Broody breeds

[bigz1983]

Of all our breeds we have/had, the black Australorp are the breed that broods for us, so far. One is broody on a regular basis and has successfully raised 3 batches of adopted chicks. Her sister thinks about being broody, but so far has never sat for 3 weeks straight.

We have several other breeds just getting to POL, so time will tell which of these new-to-us breeds go broody.

We have 5 hatchery stock black australorps.
They are from the same hatchery, same age as our buff orpingtons and none of them have went broody either.
The barred rock hen that went broody last year was not hatchery stock.
We got her from a breeder.

 

[333113]

Just my opinion, but I think that most of us small breeders prefer broody birds, since they help prevent the expense of extra incubator space. I think that the big breeders work with so many more chickens, it's not worthwhile for them to select for broodiness, one way or another.

 

[bigz1983]

This is really what I want in a chicken breed
-Large breed for dual purpose meat/eggs
-Goes broody reliably
-Clean legged(Don't really care for feathered feet)
-Rose comb(better for winters in my region)
The Wyandotte meets most of this critea but not sure about broodiness?
I have one Wyandotte and she has never gone broody.

 

[SueT]

I had one Wyandotte for about 3 years, never went broody.

 

[varidgerunner]

I hatch out everything with standard sized american gamefowl or oriental gamefowl, just like people have for years.Always wondered why my grandma spoke fondly of the gamefowl she had in the days before electricity. Finally figured it out. She never spoke fondly of silkies, because they weren't used for anything but oddities, then as now.

My orientals- 1. Have long lifespan. At least 10, 20 years not uncommon. 2. 99.9 percent of females go broody. Some of the roosters even go broody, so it probably means you have a 120% chance of getting a broody hen. 3. Go broody early, after the first few eggs are laid. 4. Go broody often. 5. Can raise chicks on free range, fighting off predators up to the possum, skunk, raccoon class. Even the hens can take out a hawk. Will raise large commotion and make larger predators think twice about losing an eye. Using extreme wariness, athleticism, and the ability to see in the dark they do quite well. They have very high hatching success and chick survival. 6. large enough to set a large clutch of standard sized eggs, excess cockerels have large breast and are very tasty. Take longer to grow than their modern cornish descendants, but it doesn't cost you anything as they do it in the woods on bugs and seeds. 7. Males are the best companions you could ever have. Lower incidence of human aggression than any other breed of chicken. More tame and laid back than any other breed, can be trusted with small children, dressed up in doll clothes, taken to grocery store, etc.

 

[bigz1983]

I hatch out everything with standard sized american gamefowl or oriental gamefowl, just like people have for years.Always wondered why my grandma spoke fondly of the gamefowl she had in the days before electricity. Finally figured it out. She never spoke fondly of silkies, because they weren't used for anything but oddities, then as now.

My orientals- 1. Have long lifespan. At least 10, 20 years not uncommon. 2. 99.9 percent of females go broody. Some of the roosters even go broody, so it probably means you have a 120% chance of getting a broody hen. 3. Go broody early, after the first few eggs are laid. 4. Go broody often. 5. Can raise chicks on free range, fighting off predators up to the possum, skunk, raccoon class. Even the hens can take out a hawk. Will raise large commotion and make larger predators think twice about losing an eye. Using extreme wariness, athleticism, and the ability to see in the dark they do quite well. They have very high hatching success and chick survival. 6. large enough to set a large clutch of standard sized eggs, excess cockerels have large breast and are very tasty. Take longer to grow than their modern cornish descendants, but it doesn't cost you anything as they do it in the woods on bugs and seeds. 7. Males are the best companions you could ever have. Lower incidence of human aggression than any other breed of chicken. More tame and laid back than any other breed, can be trusted with small children, dressed up in doll clothes, taken to grocery store, etc.

Is that the same chicken set as your avatar?
I will look more into them.
They kinda like look the cornish or Indian game.

 

[varidgerunner]

Is that the same chicken set as your avatar?
I will look more into them.
They kinda like look the cornish or Indian game.

My avatar is an asil, yes. They mixed some barnyard mutts with Asil and came up with the Cornish, probably the reason for the resemblance.

 

[bigz1983]

My avatar is an asil, yes. They mixed some barnyard mutts with Asil and came up with the Cornish, probably the reason for the resemblance.

How do they handle cold weather?

 

[Kathleen Sanderson]

I've never had a Buff Orpington go broody, either, even though 'everyone' says they are good broodies! I did have a Buff Wyandotte go broody, though, and strongly suspect she had some Buff Orpington in her ancestry, because she had white skin and legs (Wyandottes are supposed to have yellow skin). I think I got the Buff Wyandottes from Privett hatchery, but you'd have to check and see if they still sell them.

I've had several Easter Eggers go broody, even though the breed descriptions usually say they won't. One of the best broodies I've had was half Easter Egger and half Silkie, and then her daughter, who was 3/4 EE, was also a good broody hen. The crosses will have a bit of feathering on their legs, but they don't have feathered feet like Silkies do. I don't know if the crosses will always have normal feathers, but mine did, and I think that's preferable -- they handle weather better, and I think it's also helpful for covering a clutch of eggs. Both of my cross hens were about half-way in size between a Silkie and Easter Egger, and laid small eggs (but not tiny).

Right now I've got Icelandics, and have had several of them go broody; the fact that they go broody was one of the main reasons I decided to get Icies, because they are also good layers.

Personally I don't care much for the feather-footed chickens, because in snow they get ice balls on their feet, and in mud they are just a mess and have to be kept inside (and I prefer my chickens to be free-range as much as possible). But in some situations they are fine, they just take a little more care.

 

[bigz1983]

I've never had a Buff Orpington go broody, either, even though 'everyone' says they are good broodies! I did have a Buff Wyandotte go broody, though, and strongly suspect she had some Buff Orpington in her ancestry, because she had white skin and legs (Wyandottes are supposed to have yellow skin). I think I got the Buff Wyandottes from Privett hatchery, but you'd have to check and see if they still sell them.

I've had several Easter Eggers go broody, even though the breed descriptions usually say they won't. One of the best broodies I've had was half Easter Egger and half Silkie, and then her daughter, who was 3/4 EE, was also a good broody hen. The crosses will have a bit of feathering on their legs, but they don't have feathered feet like Silkies do. I don't know if the crosses will always have normal feathers, but mine did, and I think that's preferable -- they handle weather better, and I think it's also helpful for covering a clutch of eggs. Both of my cross hens were about half-way in size between a Silkie and Easter Egger, and laid small eggs (but not tiny).

Right now I've got Icelandics, and have had several of them go broody; the fact that they go broody was one of the main reasons I decided to get Icies, because they are also good layers.

Personally I don't care much for the feather-footed chickens, because in snow they get ice balls on their feet, and in mud they are just a mess and have to be kept inside (and I prefer my chickens to be free-range as much as possible). But in some situations they are fine, they just take a little more care.

I wonder if I should look for heritage breeder stock Wyndottes or Dominics?
If I could find Wyndottes or Dominics bred to have the broody gene and meet my requirements rose comb, dual purpose, clean legged(no leg feathers)I think it would be worth the investment...