Broody Minorca

[troy5775]

I had a buff minorca go broody on me about 4 days ago. I didn't think minorcas had it in them. Is there any chance of her abandoning them. I have had laying hens for about 4 years now and I nomally hatch my eggs in a bator, never had one go broody before like this. I could understand with one of my silkies(I count on them being broody) or even one of my buff rock/rhode island crosses (great layers by the way and calm) but not a minorca. Any one else ever have a broody minorca?

 

[rghornbeck]

Just noticed your post. By now I guess your Minorca hen showed whether or not she'd be a good mom. Hope you have had good luck. Interestingly, I just now have had one of my black Minorca bantams go broody. She is only seven months old and her biological mother has never ever gone broody. She was hatched and raised by one of my blond feather-legged bantam hens. Anyway, like you, I had my doubts about her ability but let her sit on two bantam eggs and she made it all the way through the 21 days and is proving to be an excellent mother. It's fascinating to me and makes me wonder about the interactions between genetics and environment. Did she learn how to broody because she was brood-hatched herself? At any rate, I'm a firm believer in going the natural way rather than artificial incubation if at all possible. Nothing can beat God's way i.e. a broody hen with an instinct to care for her hatchlings!

 

[Preservation Acres]

I totally agree. I just went through my first broody hen hatch, and letting the hen take care of everything isn't only SO much easier, it's just good for the hen and the chicks. My chicks are about 3 weeks old now and they're growing fast. Still, she's taking care of them and providing all care and "how to be a chicken" training.

 

[Mahonri]

We had a broody leghorn once... I'll admit, she wasn't the best of mommas.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I had a leghorn go broody.....white leghorn. I didn't believe my eyes, but she stuck with it a while. She was at a bad spot, and sitting along side a broody malard....so they had a team effort going. But when really bad weather hit, they abandoned ship and I knew (like a little bird advised me to check it out ) I needed to prepare......I mean, really.....a leghorn. So the eggs finished off in an incubator, but I was glad for the experience, the memory and the help those 2 gave me. Hens are better than us.