Broody question

[Nsampsel]

What breeds make the best broodies & mothers?

I have a tiny OEG mix banty who is broody at the moment. I also am getting into Silkies. I need to know how well Orps, d'Uccles, Sebrights, Cochins, Rocks, Sussex & OEG Banties do in comparison with each other. Also, if any of these are not good broodies/mothers, how well do they do on bator hatching?

 

[Chiko]

OEG Banties, or pretty much any bantams are spectacular broodies and mothers. I have 3 broodies right now, one is a Cochin bantam. She was my first broody this year and is also my 2nd broody! She's an amazing mom and very protective. None of her chicks ever die. My other 2 are a large Cochin hen and an Orpington Mix.

Here are the breeds I've had awesome success with.
Buff Orpington
Silkie
Cochin
Cochin Bantam
Ameraucana
Japanese Bantam
Barred Rock
and a Sebright.

All of the breeds you listed generally do pretty well.

What exactly do you mean by bator hatching?

 

[ki4got]

incubator hatching is my preferred method, but if i have a broody i will give her the chicks that hatch... here's my latest momma. babies are a week old yesterday. she's got 8 LF barred rock and 4 assorted bantam chicks (1 pure cochin, 1 pure oegb, 2 mixed). I keep my broodies inside for a week or so then put them in an outside pen with the babies, so they can 'meet' the rest of the free range flock before turning loose. usually about a week or so for me.


my broody breeds are oegb, cochin, brahma (all bantam) and dorking (lf). my dorkings make awesome mommas and can handle a good many more chicks than the oegb, as Ducky's (the hen pictured above) babies will quickly outgrow her, while the dorkings don't care how tiny the babies stay.

edit: Ducky's a silver duckwing Old English Game Bantam... she's in the top brooder box so i can keep an eye on chicks for pasty butt or just not doing well in general.

also meant to say, i hatch most of them in the incubator, but i let her have 1 fertile egg when the others go to lockdown, so her first is hatched under her and she knows to expect them... then i just sneak the rest in 1 or 2 at a time in the evening.

 

[Nsampsel]

Great! Sounds like I have a lot to work with. I have an Americuna, frizzle cochin bantum, Silver Duckwing OEG Bantum and a Japanese Bantum too. So I should be all set once they all start laying. My Orps are all in the bator at the moment, but a couple of my cochins are a couple months old. I have 1 Silkie a couple months old & 8 more in the bator. So I guess once everyone starts laying & setting I'll have babies everywhere & not have 2 use the bator anymore...lol

 

[ki4got]

well the only ones that went broody before a year old were the brahma and the red cochin. everyone else waited until this spring. to encourage a broody, get some fake eggs and leave them in the nest all the time. i wouldn't leave real eggs. then when she goes broody, you can give her all the eggs at once so they all hatch at the same time. and mark them (pencil on the large end works good) so you know which eggs are incubating and which are deposited by a visitor (if she's in with other birds)...

i've tried hatching in the main coop, but the other birds coming in and out caused a lot of problems and chicks were lost. either from their own momma running to chase off the intruders, or the other birds seeing someone who doesn't belong... either way a broody should be separated from the rest of the flock for hers and the chicks' benefit.

 

[Nsampsel]

I'm gonna try to do breeding pens for most of the ones I WANT to brood. Then there will only be a pair or trio in there to deal with. It's the only way to keep my lines pure anyway as my other pens will be mixed.

 

[ki4got]

that's a good idea but even a rooster in a pen with a broody hen might kill the chicks when they first hatch. it's always best to keep broodies separate. even with hens brooding at the same time, brooding together can be problematic if one hen desices to sit on the wrong nest... then you may end up with broken eggs if they disagree about it, or one nest ruined because the eggs got cold...

again that's why i always incubate in the incubator. then it really doesn't matter if they switch nests, forget where they were, or whatever. wooden eggs don't care. LOL i've never had more than 1 broody at a time tho, so it's never been a problem. they can stay broody on their wooden eggs with the rest of the flock, until a couple days before i expect eggs to hatch. i use milk crates in the coop, with one side cut out but usually facing a wall. so then i just take her whole crate and move it into the brooder, usually just before night. i keep a towel over the crate until the next morning, then she can come out, eat, etc and go right back. if she doesn't accept being moved, she doesn't get chicks and goes back to being a barnyard bird.

 

[Nsampsel]

Well, until I get my breeder pens/grow-out pens moved here from my uncle's my 1 little broody is stuck in the coop with everyone else. I only have 1 other hen laying so far & she goes in & lays her egg with my broody each day & I go in & fish it out (broody's eggs are marked). This hen happens to be next to top of the pecking order even tho she is so tiny. The only 1 above her is the other hen already laying & she is barely bigger. I have about 4 roos in the pen currently & the funny thing is I keep finding them in the coop guarding my broody. They will sit on the roost closest her box & squawk & flap & peck at anyone who comes to bother her. It's usually my head roo in there, but a couple times I've found all 4 at once. My kids are especially afraid of these boys & the broody right now. I can walk right in & reach under her & get no more reaction than a bit of fluffing. If my kids open the door they get pecked like crazy...LOL I keep telling them to leave her alone but my daughter keeps wanting to "check on her" cuz she's afraid she's not eating. I see her out every morning for a few minutes, so no worries there. The boys stand guard over the nest while she's out & keep everyone away.