Can an incubator hatched hen become a sitting hen

[badbaty]

i am just getting back into chickens and i was told back when i was a boy that an incubator hatch hen will never hatch and raise chicks
is this true or does it have to do with the breed. when i was a boy we raised bramha (spelling) and we never gave them a chance to sit on a nest of eggs any help will be helpfull

 

[Teach97]

Yes an incubator hatched hen can become broody...I have three to prove it. It is not a learned behavior.

By the way...welcome. My youngest raises bantam brahmas...they have not shown any signs of going broody

 

[DANNY]

No not true. It is true that some breeds are bred for high egg production and not to set.

 

[Jades Chickens]

I would say definatly so. Some breeds still sit very well. Buff orpingtons and light brahmas just to name a couple.

 

[ruth]

Broodiness depends on the breed, not how they came into the world. I've had many of my hens go broody and they were hatched in an incubator. They sat, hatched and raised their chicks - one even raised baby ducks after sitting on a duck nest for a month. So far I've had Marans, Araucanas, EEs and Buff Orps go broody.

 

[ve]

Hi.Wellcome to BYC. Brahma are verry broody breed.Broodyness depends on genes.I have one hen from Cackle Hatchery hatched 03.19.08 been broody for 3th time now.Brahma,Cochin,Silkie,Weandote,Buff Orpington are good mothers.My hen is Iova Blue.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I have one that ended up being the best mother ever! She is great and does everything right

 

[badbaty]

thank you everyone i have some wyndotes on the way and i am going to have to incubate them and i am glad to hear the they will beable to hatch some eggs for me later a lot easier for me

 

[dancingbear]

Whether they hatch in an incubator or not has nothing to do with it, but the breed does. I had several Wyandottes in the past, and while they were lovely hens, and good layers, I never saw them brood. Not once.

Here's a link that gives general tendencies for various breeds:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

They describe Wyandottes as "infrequent brooder;
excellent mother ". In other words, if you do get one that broods, she'll most likely be a great mom, but don't hold your breath.

You may get lucky, and get a broody one. Or you could just get a few hens of a known broody breed, and keep them around for hatching eggs for you. My best brooders are dark Cornish, (from a hatchery, so they were from an incubator) and light Brahmas, that I hatched in my incubator, and some of the Brahma mix offspring, mostly hatched and raised by hens. Silkies brood easily, but they're tiny, and can't cover very many eggs at once.

 

[walkswithdog]

And "general tendencies" can be misleading. At this point MOST of my hatchery Partridge Rocks have gone broody and are raising or have raised chicks.

Luck of the draw with some breeds but I was told they wouldn't and was pleasantly surprised.