bringing broodiness back? weird question...

[redneckgirl]

okay I was thinking, y'all know how some strains/breeds (for example leghorns, rhode island reds, or Plymouth rocks.) of birds basically have broodiness breed out of them due to generations of chickens being hatched by incubators instead of mama hens.
Do you think it would be possible to bring it back into those strains of chickens ? by maybe giving those eggs from the un-broody breeds to silkies or some other breed of bantam, and doing this for a few generations?
also, do you think bantams will soon be the un-broody type of chicken due to us humans?

well sorry this is so long, I was thinking about it a needed a answer! =]

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Totally off topic, but when I read the title of your thread, the Justin Timberlake song "Bringing Sexy Back" popped into my head...

We're bring broody back,
Those little chickies don't know how to act...

LOL!

 

[gritsar]

There was an article in Backyard Poultry magazine a few issues back written by a man that is trying to do exactly that. He's breeding hens known to be good broodies to roosters of non-broody breeds.

 

[redneckgirl]

Quote:
hahaha. funnnyyy funnyy!

but yeah, that man is doing it totally different. I don't see how his plan would work... mine sounded better. To me at least... haha

 

[redneckgirl]

bumppp!

 

[Umbral_Necropolitan]

The only thing I could see wrong with breeding broodiness back into chickens is that it would change the current breeds. For example if you bred a roo from a non-broody chicken breed and say an OEGB, it would have a cross breed. Someone might be able to breed several generations of crosses to get the broodiness back but once they did they would have to try and recreate the breed they started with while trying to maintain the broodiness. It would be similar to cross breeding a pure-bred dog with a mutt to get a stronger offspring via heterosis (hybrid vigor), you would have a stronger animal but it would not have the appearance or other traits that have been cultivated from the guided breeding.

 

[Jeff9118]

Why not try it this way and keep the breed true? For example, I once had 15 Silver laced Polish Hens and 2 roos. All excellent examples odf the breed and very uniform. This breed is notorious for being non-setters but I had one go setting almost every year. Had I been concerned over this I would have kept the same # of adults but just replaced the 2 roos and the # of hens that I raised from the broody, banding them to tell them apart and continued this cycle everytime one went setting until eventually I had a newer and hopefully broodier flock. Then out of the young ones, each time one goes broody it gets a new band and say in three years time some have not earned thier new band. I would again replace them with chicks from the broody ones and so on.

 

[redneckgirl]

yeah my idea is different than cross breeding.
I thought you could give umm say, ten leghorn eggs to a broody silkie...
then when those chickens are mature you give those eggs to a broody hen, repeating that for a few generations until they start being broody again.
I dont think broodieness is a genetic trait. to my understanding its a behavior that has been bred out sadly.
thats my theory. pretty much the same as Jeff's..

what do you guys think?

 

[Southernbelle]

I've also heard chicks raised by broodies are more likely to go broody themselves, so make sure you're hatching under broodies for this project!

I love broodiness in birds - I maintain a (pet quality) Silkie flock just to do the hatching - that was the whole point of getting them! Marc Rosen just had an article in Backyard Poultry where he talks about maintaining a broody flock instead of incubating and I about fell over - I thought I was the only one who did this! It makes me sad to see people saying "anyone who goes broody here gets broken of it" or seeing chicks raised in artificial brooders. I understand the need for it, but I love seeing the hen and chicks together.

 

[redneckgirl]

Quote:
Me too! its just so natural.