Can incubator hatched chicks be good broody moms?

[Pufna]

I searched around on the Web and can't seem to find a discussion about this.
Can hens hatched and raised from incubators make good broody hen moms?
A few years ago I had a very bad experience with one broody hen that was an incubator chick, she has broken many eggs before they hatched, and stepped on some chicks with only one chick surviving, so I have the impression that that's because she wasn't raised by a broody hen.
Is it really so?

 

[InterestingChickens]

I searched around on the Web and can't seem to find a discussion about this.
Can hens hatched and raised from incubators make good broody hen moms?
A few years ago I had a very bad experience with one broody hen that was an incubator chick, she has broken many eggs before they hatched, and stepped on some chicks with only one chick surviving, so I have the impression that that's because she wasn't raised by a broody hen.
Is it really so?

Yes, incubator hatched chicks can still be good broodys'. It depends on their individual personality and how they go about it. Being broody is a natural instinct and is not related to how they were hatched.

 

[Tonyroo]

Some breeds are better at being good moms. It has nothing to do with how they started off in life.

Some breeds are also terrible at being broody. My Swedish flower hens don't ever brood. So I have to incubate to produce more generations.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'll give a bit of difference of opinion here.

I agree that a large part of broodiness is genetics and breed. However, having raised chickens for the last 10 years, starting with incubator/feedstore chicks (which are predominantly chosen for non-broodiness, high egg laying), and then going to solely broody hatching for the last 8 years, I can say that as the years have progressed, I HAVE noticed that broody raised chicks tend to become good broody moms. They simply have better instincts from the get go. The difference now is how OFTEN my hens will brood...that solely depends on genetics (with Silkies and Cochins several times a year and standards once a year).

My whole flock is much more broody prone and chick friendly now...but I'm also selecting for sustainability. I personally think some of the chick/hen bonding is lost in the feed store/incubator hatched chicks. Fosters are infinitely more difficult to graft to a brooding hen than a broody hatched chick as the chicks know where to go for comfort and how to listen to the hen. The mother also teaches them flock integration and behaviors. All that to say I've got much more broody/chick friendly chickens now.

I would recommend choosing a notoriously broody breed (like Silkie or bantam Cochin) and then hatching some breeder quality eggs under them. I completely discovered that a number of my non-broody prone breeds were becoming more broody through the years.

So....the answer...yes, to a degree.

LofMc

 

[Pufna]

Bump

I'm curious about more opinions

 

[aart]

so I have the impression that that's because she wasn't raised by a broody hen.
Is it really so?

I'd say no.
Some birds are good broodies, some are not.
Some breeds are more prone to becoming broody,
but it's still all down the the individual bird.

 

[SueT]

My most persistent broody, and mama for 4 yrs in a row was incubator hatched (at a hatchery). (She’s a Sebright). You’ve got to start somewhere....

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I'd say it depends on the hen. Some breeds are more prone to being broody, but you can have hens of that breed that refuse to go broody, and vice-versa. I've had three hens go broody, all from the feed store, that were hatched in an incubator. One made a very good mother, and I'm scared to try the other two, who might decide their chicks make a good meal.

 

[Yardmom]

I think it is genetics and instinct. I have a hen that was incubator hatched that was broody at 6 months and raised 3 batches of chicks by a year. To top it off she is half Leghorn. My incubator hatched silkies were just as broody as the Silkie chicks they have hatched.