Best broody hen breed?

[varidgerunner]

There are many accounts of Asils killing cobras in defending their young, I don't know about cobras but I sure know they don't like blacksnakes. I have heard of Asil broodcocks swatting down hawks as well. Don't know if a silkie could pull that off.

 

[sniper338]

There are many accounts of Asils killing cobras in defending their young, I don't know about cobras but I sure know they don't like blacksnakes. I have heard of Asil broodcocks swatting down hawks as well. Don't know if a silkie could pull that off.

Well where in the H.E double L. Do you find one of these birds! Lol. They aint popular around here at least...

Ill probably just get silkies because the fiance wants them anyways

 

[varidgerunner]

There are plenty of Asil breeders in Texas. Cackle Hatchery ships Asil chicks, they are probably not the greatest quality, but I'm sure they would still do a pretty good job raising chicks.

 

[horselover1999]

I have 2 silkies and 2 standard cochin broody right now. One of the silkies got up for a break and both cochins saw the eggs. The cochins just started this morning so I just left one egg under each hen.

 

[Kabootar]

I know this is an older thread but nevertheless it is still very relevant. So I will share my experience with broody hens.
I have kept chickens in my yard for at least 8 years before I moved to the city so that I can support my family with some extra money. My parents, my younger sibling and my grandmother is still maintaining a flock of 300+ chickens back in my home. I have seen hundreds of hens of different breeds and cross breeds going broody, from silkies to Leghorns to Cornish X.
What I have experienced is that while silkies are very broody and are sweet they are just not fit for the job. They are not competitive foragers, they tend to remain on the bottom of the pecking order, they can't defend themselves and chicks from bullies. That being said they are full of love and passion for the chicks and love being mothers. But you have to separate them from the flock, you have to make a different arrangement, you cannot free range them, you cannot leave them with the rest of the flock, in a way they kind of sabotage the whole idea of having a dependable broody hen under which you can throw a dozen or 15 eggs and then leave everything upon her.
If you are looking for the best dependable broody hen on which you can trust in my experience you will not find a better mother than an Aseel hen. Because...
1) they are very broody, they will go broody atleast 3 times a year. Most of mine go broody 4 times a year and trying to break a broody Aseel is like trying to break steel with bare hands. It's next to impossible.
2)You don't need to separate them from the flock, trust me no one will mess with a broody Aseel.
3) They are always on the top of the pecking order, this means their chicks are well fed.
4) They are excellent foragers.
5) They are most intelligent of all chickens.
6) They are very protective mothers, they will not tolerate a mean rooster, I have seen them attacking snakes, dogs, foxes, cats and crows in order to protect their chicks. But they will only attack when their chicks are too small to run fast, they just cannot abandon them for sake of her life.
7) They are very good teachers, I have seen them whacking a slow learner.

So in my opinion, based on my personal experience Aseels are the best mothers you will ever find in the chicken world.

 

[varidgerunner]

I know this is an older thread but nevertheless it is still very relevant. So I will share my experience with broody hens.
I have kept chickens in my yard for at least 8 years before I moved to the city so that I can support my family with some extra money. My parents, my younger sibling and my grandmother is still maintaining a flock of 300+ chickens back in my home. I have seen hundreds of hens of different breeds and cross breeds going broody, from silkies to Leghorns to Cornish X.
What I have experienced is that while silkies are very broody and are sweet they are just not fit for the job. They are not competitive foragers, they tend to remain on the bottom of the pecking order, they can't defend themselves and chicks from bullies. That being said they are full of love and passion for the chicks and love being mothers. But you have to separate them from the flock, you have to make a different arrangement, you cannot free range them, you cannot leave them with the rest of the flock, in a way they kind of sabotage the whole idea of having a dependable broody hen under which you can throw a dozen or 15 eggs and then leave everything upon her.
If you are looking for the best dependable broody hen on which you can trust in my experience you will not find a better mother than an Aseel hen. Because...
1) they are very broody, they will go broody atleast 3 times a year. Most of mine go broody 4 times a year and trying to break a broody Aseel is like trying to break steel with bare hands. It's next to impossible.
2)You don't need to separate them from the flock, trust me no one will mess with a broody Aseel.
3) They are always on the top of the pecking order, this means their chicks are well fed.
4) They are excellent foragers.
5) They are most intelligent of all chickens.
6) They are very protective mothers, they will not tolerate a mean rooster, I have seen them attacking snakes, dogs, foxes, cats and crows in order to protect their chicks. But they will only attack when their chicks are too small to run fast, they just cannot abandon them for sake of her life.
7) They are very good teachers, I have seen them whacking a slow learner.

So in my opinion, based on my personal experience Aseels are the best mothers you will ever find in the chicken world.

YES. ^^^^. This.^^^^. No better broody than an asil/aseel. If anyone tells you different they haven't ever had any real ones. Had one beat a skunk into oblivion that tried to get her chicks. Get one you like and enjoy her for the 10 or 15 years that she will lay, set and hatch up to four broods a year for you.

Silkies are worthless little things, a freak of nature. Hawk and housecat food. Black meat tiny birds, can't pay someone to take excess roosters away, AND YOU CAN'T TELL WHAT SEX THEY ARE UNTIL THEY CROW OR LAY EGGS. Can't go on the roost, lay in the chicken poop underneath, getting bullied by the worthwhile birds that know what they are, worthless freaks of nature.

 

[varidgerunner]

The chickens you raise, whatever the breed, will be better birds raised by an asil hen. She will do a better job than you incubating, brooding and teaching chicks not to do stupid things. Less crooked legs and toes, as good a hatch rate as you can have, and excellent survivability. I have a few loose, and have to be careful as the hordes of asil raised chicks descend from the woods. Very easy to have a chicken plague, as my wife calls it. Like locusts devouring everything in their path, and momma setting on more eggs.

 

[Kabootar]

The chickens you raise, whatever the breed, will be better birds raised by an asil hen. She will do a better job than you incubating, brooding and teaching chicks not to do stupid things. Less crooked legs and toes, as good a hatch rate as you can have, and excellent survivability. I have a few loose, and have to be careful as the hordes of asil raised chicks descend from the woods. Very easy to have a chicken plague, as my wife calls it. Like locusts devouring everything in their path, and momma setting on more eggs.

The only problem with this breed is the aggressiveness of the males, which is actually not a problem since they were developed for fighting. I have a good number of hens and they free range on a rather decent piece of land that is of about 6 acres. You will have to keep in mind that I live in tropical monsoon region our birds free range all year round so I have never had an Aseel rooster who has murdered his flock mate, because there is always ample females to share and space to escape . Another thing is that my present Aseel rooster tend to spend more time in our home following my father and grandmother everywhere than with the flock. Many people keep Aseel roosters as pet in their house.
I will like to hear what is your experience with Aseel roosters.

 

[lazy gardener]

While you can choose some of the standard fare "known for broodiness" birds, they may not actually be a good fit for your ideal flock paradigm. For example: I do not care for fru fru birds. Cross Silkie off the list. Absolutely refuse to have a feather footed bird in my flock. Cross Cochin and a number of other "known for broodiness" birds off my list. Don't want a bird who is ALWAYS broody. I'm happy to have an "occasionally goes broody" and want small combs for my harsh winters. My choice is Dominique. Doesn't lay the largest egg, the bird is on the small side so won't brood a lot of chicks. But, they are known for friendliness, are somewhat prone to broodiness, are excellent foragers. Love the "eye candy" cuckoo feather pattern and rose comb. This bird produces lovely sex linked birds when matched with any number of roosters. Doms make a nice flock companion for EE in both size and temperament.

Before choosing a breed, check Henderson's chicken breeds chart. http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[Kabootar]

While you can choose some of the standard fare "known for broodiness" birds, they may not actually be a good fit for your ideal flock paradigm. For example: I do not care for fru fru birds. Cross Silkie off the list. Absolutely refuse to have a feather footed bird in my flock. Cross Cochin and a number of other "known for broodiness" birds off my list. Don't want a bird who is ALWAYS broody. I'm happy to have an "occasionally goes broody" and want small combs for my harsh winters. My choice is Dominique. Doesn't lay the largest egg, the bird is on the small side so won't brood a lot of chicks. But, they are known for friendliness, are somewhat prone to broodiness, are excellent foragers. Love the "eye candy" cuckoo feather pattern and rose comb. This bird produces lovely sex linked birds when matched with any number of roosters. Doms make a nice flock companion for EE in both size and temperament.

Before choosing a breed, check Henderson's chicken breeds chart. http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Here where I live electricity supply is not reliable. We have power cuts almost daily. Our backyard poultry is semi-commercial. We like keeping poultry but we also have economic interest. We are constantly selling, consuming and losing chickens. About 70% of our flock is replaced every year. People in our region don't buy chicks, they buy ready to lay pullets or laying hens and we sell them. We are completely dependent on broody hens for hatching eggs and selling chicks and we need them to be good in their job. We always have to keep a bunch of hens in our flock which will go broody with predictable regularity.

As far as Dominics are concerned I really like them, they are very good chickens for a backyard flock, they are good foragers, they are nice, they are sweet and they will sometimes go broody but we cannot depend on breeds that will go broody once in a while.