Hatching likeliness? Total newbie!

[echo81577]

Situation: I have 3 almost 6 month old splash wyandottes I've raised from chicks. Today just got a beautiful 2 yr old wyandotte roo and 2 more 2-3 yr old jens coming out of molt. I live in SC so it'll be warm for a few more months. What is the likelihood that one or more of my 5 girls will go broody and successfully hatch any chicks? Do they stop going broody when it gets dark at 6 pm in winter? I intend to let nature take its course and not do an incubator etc. Thanks! Total newbie here.

 

[aart]

There's no predicting broodiness.
More likely to happen in spring or summer but it can happen any time of the year.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What is the likelihood that one or more of my 5 girls will go broody and successfully hatch any chicks? Do they stop going broody when it gets dark at 6 pm in winter?

I'd consider the likelihood very low, even if the older ones are coming out of the molt. Not impossible but very low. Many hens will never go broody, that's an individual thing. Many hens, especially production breeds, have been bred to reduce the chance of them going broody. Wyandottes can go broody but they are less likely to go broody than many other breeds. There is no guarantee any of them will go broody next year, let alone this fall.

The majority of hens that go broody choose late spring or summer, when it is easier to find food and have good weather to raise chicks. That's instinct that most chickens still follow. Since we domesticated them we have changed some of their instincts some, but that schedule is still ingrained in the majority of them.

I agree, you cannot control broodiness, either if they go broody at all or when they go broody if they do.

 

[Mrs. K]

I will tell you that ONCE I had a broody hen go in October. I only gave her 4 cause we were going into winter up here in SD. 3 weeks later it was -20 degrees, get warm to -1 in the day and she raised them up just fine.

So it can happen, but not real often.

MRs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

In Arkansas I had one go broody in February. I gave her 6 eggs, she hatched and raised 4. That's the only time I had one go broody where it wasn't late spring or summertime. Even in milder weather out of season broodiness doesn't happen that often but it can.