broody hens wots good?

[ferreterni]

Hello, other than the silkie what other type is a regular and reliable bantam, to go broody for egg hatching? thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Anne]

I hear bantam cochins are also quite good.

 

[Hotwings]

some mille fleurs make good broodies

 

[ferreterni]

are wyandottes any good? or oeg's? would like something good and hardy for colder weather. and pref clean legged. like the pekins though.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I have some OEGs. One is just hatched chicks, and I have another one setting right now, so I would say they are good broodies...

 

[sgtmom52]

I have 3 Buff Orpingtons. One went broody just before she was 1 year old and raised 6 chicks. BO's are a large breed, very cold hardy, clean legged and usually sweet and friendly.

 

[ferreterni]

thanks for the help, I'm hoping to just keep hens, and use them to incubate eggs i buy in, not really good spot for a rooster to live. How does it work when a hen goes broody, do you just leave all her eggs be, or lift them out? how many do they lay before they start to sit. how do you know when they are getting ready to sit?

 

[sgtmom52]

My BO just kept sitting in the nest box. She would keep sitting even if I removed her eggs daily. She also quit laying after the first week.

She would puff up her feathers so she looked twice her size and make "growling" noises whenever I got near her. Some hens will peck you but mine never pecked me, although she would peck any other hen that got near.

Broody hens usually only get off the nest long enough to eat, drink and leave the biggest, baddest smelling broody poop you have ever seen.

After she sat on nothing for about 2 weeks I bought her 12 fertile eggs which I just put under her. She took them just like they were hers. Some people put them under the hen when they are asleep. My BO hatched out 6 chicks from the 12 eggs (1 broke at 9 days and the other 5 were not fertile).

The babies are now 7 weeks old and the mama hen has just "cut the apron strings" and let the babies go on their own.

Also, I do not have a rooster - that is unless one or more of the new babies are boys!