Best hens for broodiness

[EggsNchooks]

Hey,

I am interested to hear peoples knowledge or personal experiences with the best kind of hens to use to sit on eggs. I’d like to get a batch of baby chickens coming through every now and then without having to incubate all the time as it’s costly with electricity.

or am I dreaming? Is it just easier to buy them?

I bought 3 silkies hoping to get a broody pullet and ended up with 3 roosters instead

Are hens naturally broody or can they turn broody? I’ve got 2 hens that have just started laying and hoping they’ll go clucky at some point.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

It really depends on the breed. Most high egg producers have had the broody tendency bred right out of them and you'll never see one sit on a clutch, but if you can find yourself a silkie hen, they come in at the other extreme. (Not so much the roosters! Sorry about your luck on that one!)
Cochins are said to be a broody lot, but my LF cochin has never had the inclination, my bantam cochin on the other hand goes in and out of a half broody state every other week but never really stays in that state. My Isbars are prone to broodiness as well, but my silkies, they're some determined, I've got one who will sit on clods of dirt and even a chunk of ice over the winter, so if you can find that silkie hen...
What breed are your ladies?

 

[chickens0]

Hey,

I am interested to hear peoples knowledge or personal experiences with the best kind of hens to use to sit on eggs. I’d like to get a batch of baby chickens coming through every now and then without having to incubate all the time as it’s costly with electricity.

or am I dreaming? Is it just easier to buy them?

I bought 3 silkies hoping to get a broody pullet and ended up with 3 roosters instead

Are hens naturally broody or can they turn broody? I’ve got 2 hens that have just started laying and hoping they’ll go clucky at some point.

I have seven hens and they're all different breeds (buff orpington, austra white, naked neck, silkie, golden comet, Sicilian buttercup, and a sapphire olive egger) and none besides my silkie has ever gone broody and they've been laying for around a year. I guess this isn't really helpful for getting chickens but it's helpful for breeds you don't want to get if you want a broody chicken.

 

[EggsNchooks]

It really depends on the breed. Most high egg producers have had the broody tendency bred right out of them and you'll never see one sit on a clutch, but if you can find yourself a silkie hen, they come in at the other extreme. (Not so much the roosters! Sorry about your luck on that one!)
Cochins are said to be a broody lot, but my LF cochin has never had the inclination, my bantam cochin on the other hand goes in and out of a half broody state every other week but never really stays in that state. My Isbars are prone to broodiness as well, but my silkies, they're some determined, I've got one who will sit on clods of dirt and even a chunk of ice over the winter, so if you can find that silkie hen...
What breed are your ladies?

You’ll have to forgive me for I’m not very learned with all the different breeds as of yet. I have 1 Sussex hen. 2 x black hens. I’ve also got 10 red laying hens I recently bought from a Chook farm, they’re machines and just pump out the eggs it was sad, they didn’t know what grass was or what food scraps were and they act a bit strange personality wise. My dad says they’d be Battery Hens. They have a great home now and free range every day. I hope their feathers will grow back, they’re pretty bare. I think a Silkie Hen is the way to go by the sounds. I might have to keep an eye out for an older pullet as I have a feeling the breeder I got my other silkies from knew she was selling me roosters. I just get this vibe she knew but didn’t fully disclose it to me.

Can you tell me what breed the black chooks are??

Thank you and happy Easter friend!!

 

[EggsNchooks]

I have seven hens and they're all different breeds (buff orpington, austra white, naked neck, silkie, golden comet, Sicilian buttercup, and a sapphire olive egger) and none besides my silkie has ever gone broody and they've been laying for around a year. I guess this isn't really helpful for getting chickens but it's helpful for breeds you don't want to get if you want a broody chicken.

Thank you for your input. Silkies sound like the go! I may have to buy mature hens to take the guess work out of it. I was considering buff orpingtons.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

If it makes you feel any better, silkies are notoriously hard to sex until they've matured a good deal! If you keep your eyes peeled for an older silkie hen then there's a good chance she'll be an experienced mama.

Just taking a stab in the dark, but your black hen might be a black australorp, but the black ones can be tricky. That's very sweet of you to show some battery hens a decent life! If it weren't for willing flock owners like yourself, they'd be destined for the nugget or dog food factory before they've even felt what it's like to have the sun on their darling little faces!

Happy Easter to you and yours, as well!

 

[JaeG]

My Old English Game bantams are fantastic broodies. They are awesome mothers who will look after large sized babies (they just love babies - any babies) although they may need help heat wise if the weather is cool and they have too many babies. One of ours raised a duck for us and, even though she's only had chicken babies before, she was devoted to that duckling. Now she's raising chicken chicks again for me.

Be careful of very large breeds as they can be clumsy and squash babies by accident.

 

[EggsNchooks]

My Old English Game bantams are fantastic broodies. They are awesome mothers who will look after large sized babies (they just love babies - any babies) although they may need help heat wise if the weather is cool and they have too many babies. One of ours raised a duck for us and, even though she's only had chicken babies before, she was devoted to that duckling. Now she's raising chicken chicks again for me.

Be careful of very large breeds as they can be clumsy and squash babies by accident.

Thank you for this great valuable advice!! I will keep my eyes peeled for old English game bantams. Are any bantams okay or is it the old English bantams that are particularly good mothers??
Thanks friend!

 

[JaeG]

Thank you for this great valuable advice!! I will keep my eyes peeled for old English game bantams. Are any bantams okay or is it the old English bantams that are particularly good mothers??
Thanks friend!

The Old English Games especially. They come in all sorts of colours. Cochin bantams are another broody bantam breed.

 

[Aapomp831]

I second the Cochin bantam... or any bantam for that matter - every one over ever had has gone broody and they are great mothers who have raised standard sized chicks for me