OK guys, here's the deal--- I would like to order some more babies and put them under a broody hen ASAP. However, I don't have anybody broody--- heck!--- I only have 12 week olds! They are supposed to start laying in Sept sometime, and I would love them to go broody in the couple of months after that, so here is my question.... Is it reasonable to expect super broody breeds (like Cochins) to go broody within a few months of just STARTING to lay? The problem is the hatchery that I order from, that sexes bantams, and ships small numbers of them (both of which I NEED!) are not going to be carrying the breeds I want to order next spring. So it is either put them under a broody girl in Oct-Nov-Dec or have them in a brooder in my house in the next month (which I DO NOT want to do!-- I just got these babies out, and they were great, but I really want my kids to see how a hen raises her babies and teaches them!) Thanks!
Maybe never! I have a Cochin hen is about 14 mnths old and has no indication of ever going broody. Aww, what's so bad about having baby chicks around the house?
We have a game hen who went broody about 3 weeks after laying her first egg. She is a wonderful mommy, but she is very mean to the other chickens, and was mean before she hatched babies, so it's not the chicks. She's a great mommy, but a mean hen. Is it a sign of broodiness when she has her chicks sleep outside of the plastic carrier they've been using as a nest, and she sleeps by herself? (her chicks are 4 weeks old) How long after she hatches eggs will she start laying again? None of the roosters we have are old enough to fertilize her eggs (besides, she'd beat up the rooster who tried to mount her!), so we'll have to put baby chicks underneath her again - which is no problem, we'll just get 5-6 from a local hatchery.