Case of Bad Teen Mom - why aren't my pullets sitting on their eggs?

[DangerChickenHouse]

I only have young Buff Orp (actually they are mutts) girls that just started laying around Christmas time. However, they have zero interest on sitting on their eggs. Is this normal?

 

[key west chick]

yep, they will only sit on eggs when they are broody. If they just started laying, they are probably not broody. And not all breeds are very broody.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

It is my understanding that the instinct to actually sit on the eggs and try to hatch them has been mostly selected out of most chicken breeds. In fact a breed that "goes broody" regularly is considered less desirable if your goal is to have lots of eggs because once they go broody, they stop laying more.

I don't have experience in this area, but from reading I've learned that most folks who want their fertilized eggs to hatch either collect them for an incubator or purchase a "broody hen" like a Cochin or Silky who will sit on and hatch other chicken's eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

They may never go broody or they may go broody late in life. I've had hens over two years old go broody for the first time. It's highly individual.