Broody Hen Thread!

[abserbean]

Age of broodiness depends on the breed and specific bird. Some hens, especially hatchery stock, never go broody b/c the trait has been bred out of them. My hatchery girls have never even show a sign of broodiness, drop the egg and run back to ranging. I have one super broody, she goes broody after about three-four weeks of laying, without fail. She "gathers her clutch" (our eggs aren't fertile, so I take hers and give her eggs to set), hatches chicks, raises them until about six weeks, and starts over. My other broody has gone broody the past two years in the middle of August. Some go broody their pullet year, and then never again. Who knows? Half the fun in having chickens is trying to figure the little stinkers out.

 

[Sustained]

Half the fun in having chickens is trying to figure the little stinkers out.

so true!

 

[fisherlady]

How old are hens when they generally go broody for the first time? My hens are roughly 8 months old and have never showed the inclination as far as I've ever seen. They're barred Plymouth rock if that has a role in it. I also don't have a roo but I've read about hens going broody without one around so I'm guessing that isn't a component?

There is no 'regular' age.... there are just too many variables. I have had hens as young as 6.5 months old go to a box and other hens who don't go until 2+ years old. You can't even use the breed as a strong guideline because the strain of bird grown by a back yard enthusiast/breeder who is trying to stay close to heritage standards will probably be more prone to being broody than the same breed of bird which has developed over a few generations at a hatchery who is trying to sell birds who lay a lot of eggs and don't go broody (since it interferes in egg production).
Your best bet for getting broody birds are by researching which breeds are 'generally' prone to broodiness, and then searching for someone who raises that breed and can specifically tell you if their stock tends to go broody or not or if they concentrate more on production tendencies.
Hens do not need a rooster around to go broody.

 

[fisherlady]

OOops! I see that abserbean already answered your question... didn't mean to duplicate answers.

 

[Sustained]

There is no 'regular' age.... there are just too many variables. I have had hens as young as 6.5 months old go to a box and other hens who don't go until 2+ years old. You can't even use the breed as a strong guideline because the strain of bird grown by a back yard enthusiast/breeder who is trying to stay close to heritage standards will probably be more prone to being broody than the same breed of bird which has developed over a few generations at a hatchery who is trying to sell birds who lay a lot of eggs and don't go broody (since it interferes in egg production).
Your best bet for getting broody birds are by researching which breeds are 'generally' prone to broodiness, and then searching for someone who raises that breed and can specifically tell you if their stock tends to go broody or not or if they concentrate more on production tendencies.
Hens do not need a rooster around to go broody.

I figured if hens can lay eggs without a rooster that they probably go broody without one as well. I just wasn't sure if it increased the chances of broodiness for any reasons. Good to know for sure though.

I'm guessing because I got mine at a feed store that they were probably ordered from a hatchery. The lady I talked to had an ordering book she was showing me so I could decide between the 2 breeds they were carrying.

Thank you for the info. I just love learning something new about them!

 

[PD-Riverman]

How old are hens when they generally go broody for the first time? My hens are roughly 8 months old and have never showed the inclination as far as I've ever seen. They're barred Plymouth rock if that has a role in it. I also don't have a roo but I've read about hens going broody without one around so I'm guessing that isn't a component?

Different breeds go broody at different times---example RIR do not go broody like Silkies. A Silkie will lay a few eggs then want to set---LOL. I had RIR for Many, Many years and had Never had one go broody, BUT I never kept them more than one year after they started laying except for the last couple years. I would get new chicks every year and when they got to laying good, I would sell the 1 1/2yr old chickens. I thinking I had one RIR go broody at around 2 years old. Game hens go broody often. I got one game hen that is going broody again for the 4th time this year. Yellow buff like to go broody to but not like a bantam. I never raised Barred rocks until a couple months ago---I will have to lear about them.




OOPS, I too was replying from my e-mail, did not realize the question had been answered several times---LOL

 

[abserbean]

My super broody is a barnyard mix, would probably best be described as an EE, but she has yellow legs and some feathering on her shanks. She thinks it is her job to populate the chicken world, or maybe she thinks she is a silkie! She is great at hatching and taking care of babies, but will rip a hole in you if you get to close to her chicks. Very sweet hen when she doesn't have chicks, not so much with them. My other broody is a Welbar, Heritage Barred Rock crossed with a Welsummer, that I picked up from a farm near me. She lays beautiful eggs and is a super mom. Never once pecked me or my kids, but takes great care of her chicks.

 

[fisherlady]

I wanted to clarify something about hatcheries... they aren't necessarily a bad thing, and the quality of the birds they provide can vary greatly depending on a couple of factors....
if the hatchery raises it's own stock and has employees who are enthusiasts of chickens in general then they may very well pair up their breeders with an eye toward a bit better quality birds. If the employee is a fan of one or two particular breeds they may 'work on' those breeds and the hatchery will be offering some decent birds of that breed. They won't be the show birds that a quality breeder produces regularly but there may be some nice examples of the breed.
if the hatchery actually gets it's hatching eggs from independent breeders (a common practice if a hatchery wants to offer 50 different breeds but doesn't have the space to keep that many birds on premises) then the quality of the birds they offer are basically at the mercy of the breeders that they buy from. And if they have 3 breeders who provide them Barred Rock eggs then you have a chance of getting some so/so birds, some nice birds and some really nice, near heritage birds all in the same shipment. It all depends on the goals (and even ethics) of the breeder they are buying from. Some breeders put more emphasis on personality and heritage traits such as broodiness or meatiness, other breeders worry more about having hens who can maximize egg production and they don't care much about the heritage traits.

Given these variables I'm sure you can see how there can be so much of a wide array of possibilities even within a single breed... the devil is in the details when it comes to producing high quality heritage type birds... and unfortunately details can take a lot of time and dedication to get right!

 

[jajeanpierre]

I hope these links work. These are pictures (on facebook) of a Kakapo parrot egg that was crushed by the mother, taped together and actually hatched. There are less than 150 Kakapo parrots--total, including in captivity--so every viable egg counts. This chick actually survived and is all grown up now. I found it incredible that the chick survived--how did it manage to get enough oxygen with all that tape on it?? How did it manage to crack open the egg??? Mother nature at her finest.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.675522609172162.1073741829.179503412107420&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/KakapoReco...0.1411610071./677495108974912/?type=3&theater

http://kakaporecovery.org.nz/

 

[ChickyChickens]

FisherLady described it real good. With me---ALL broody hens get moved to a "private" hatching pen---this is a place where she is protected, can get off the nest and walk around, eat and drink. I usually move them about 3 to 4 days after I set them. I move them at night, moving the "movable" nest, eggs and hen-----the hen is never taken off her eggs to move her. I do not allow the hen to "collect her eggs"---I put the eggs under her that I want her to set on. These eggs are pencil marked so if another hen lays a egg in her nest before I move her---I remove them daily. I set 27 hens this season, moved them all, never had one to leave the nest, rarely a broken or fertile egg that does not hatch. Never a fight over the nest doing it this way.

OK having said that---let me say this----I use My Hens as Hatching hens, sometimes they are setting on $20 a dozen eggs that I bought, Its Very important that they Hatch the best they can so my pens/nest are designed to help so this can happen.

Edited to add-----When the chicks hatch they all stay in these pens till the chicks are old enough to take them from the mother. These pens are snake/rodent proof. Good Luck with your hatches.

My broodies never go into a 'private' location1 There is just sometimes a problem with them when the chicks hatch and I'm not here (they might fall out of their nests)! If I am here then I put them into another box until the chicks are done hatching and then (there is a hole in the box)the mothers can jump out with the chicks and have fun...