How to get hens to brood & do I separate them?

[Couchmo]

Hello..As mentioned some never go Broody. Certain breeds though definitely are prone to broodiness. I wait till my Hens start to Brood and commit for a bout 3 to 4 days. Then I crate her separate from the others or other Hens will deposit eggs in her nest too. Plus Broody Hens like privacy.

All hatchery stock? The Orpington might go Broody for you.

The AMERAUU

All hatchery stock? The Orpington might go Broody for you.

The Ameraucanas are from a breeder, the BAs are hatchery, BOs & PRs probably hatchery, Highline Browns surely hatchery & we incubated some of our own eggs.

 

[chickens really]

The AMERAUU

The Ameraucanas are from a breeder, the BAs are hatchery, BOs & PRs probably hatchery, Highline Browns surely hatchery & we incubated some of our own eggs.

Keep waiting.......Best of Luck...

 

[lomine]

My best broodies are my two Blue Ameraucana. They are both great at taking incubator hatched and purchased chicks too. The others had problems. The younger ones seem to be the most problematic.

I don't know about encouraging broodiness as I never tried. If a hen is truly broody she doesn't even need an egg in the nest. I do think broodiness is contagious though, I let one sit and before I knew it, I had four broodies at one time.

Moving the nest is something I've had trouble with. I have large dog kennels I like to use for the broodies because I can close the door. I've tried both moving the nests early in the process and shortly before hatch date. Unfortunately most times, as soon as I open the door, the broody would abandon the kennel and go right back to the nest box. Een if she was sitting happily up to that point. Lost a whole clutch when the broody decided overnight she didn't want to be in the kennel anymore and stopped sitting. This year I may try moving them right away with some sacrificial eggs and them giving them eggs I want hatched once I see they are committed.

 

[Mrs. K]

Pray to the broody Gods. I have kept track and I tend to get broodies at the end of May/ early June, or mid July or mid August and once in mid October. But every BO I have ever had has done it for me.

So I think the daylight has to be right, and the broody stars need to align, but I have tried piling up some golf balls or just plain leaving some eggs till they pile up a bit and got one to go...

Always have a plan B, cause sometimes eggs don't hatch, and few day old chicks can still make it work. I am of the camp of leaving her where ever she wants to be. I have tried moving them, only to ruin it.

Do NOT put eggs under her the first few days... so been there, so done that, only to have her move, or have her not quite as committed as I thought, only to have her really settle down 4 days later, and now I am out of eggs. So do wait till you are more than sure. And mark the eggs with permanent marker. And check the nest every couple of days.

Nothing is more fun than a broody hen with chicks.

MRs K

 

[Acre4Me]

We have 7 breed, but only1 BA has gone broody. At 8 months....we gave her chicks, which she raised well. Then she tried at 10 month (Dec), but stopped after a week. Broody again begin of Feb, and she’s now accepted a new batch of chicks a day ago. Not sure if there is anything you can do to cause them to go broody, and her broodiness hasn’t encouraged any others to go broody either.

Good luck!

 

[Shadrach]

I never had hatchery Birds go Broody for me. Only breeder stock from other Broody Hens.

I've read this elsewhere. Is this a common problem with hatchery stock, or do you think it's because people tend to get dual purpose, or egg layers?

 

[chickens really]

I've read this elsewhere. Is this a common problem with hatchery stock, or do you think it's because people tend to get dual purpose, or egg layers?

I'm not sure, although I know the hatchery I purchased from certain breeds in duel purpose were more for meat than decent layers and the layers don't lay well beyond 2 years. A friend of mine says it's the different lines so it depends on what they are being bred for. My friend up north Bought from the same hatchery and her EE went Broody as did one Orpington..I've only had Broody Hens from private sellers who's Hens are Broody.
Definitely all Birds can go Broody if it's in them to do so.

 

[Spartan22]

I've read this elsewhere. Is this a common problem with hatchery stock, or do you think it's because people tend to get dual purpose, or egg layers?

Couple of hatchery White Leghorns (known for not being broody) went broody on me the first year with chickens, which at that time I didn’t want them to go broody since I only want eggs and I was so new to chickens. Fast forward to my 5th year (which was last year) 2 of my Black Australorps, 2 RIRs, 2 of black Copper Marans, Olive Egger and an eight month old BCMs (8 total, ages less than a year to 3 yrs old) went broody almost simultaneously. I gave them all black Copper Marans eggs. It was fun to see them hatched and raised chicks, definitely maturity matters. The 3 yr old RIR by far the best mom-they’re fierce protective and motherly that even adopted the other chicks that was abandoned @2 wks old by young moms, all of these hens were hatchery except the BCMs and Olive Eggers.

 

[Chelsea-85]

I believe that hens would like to imitate sometimes. I have two pullets, one went broody about 15 days ago, now the other pullet is broody too.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I've read this elsewhere. Is this a common problem with hatchery stock, or do you think it's because people tend to get dual purpose, or egg layers?

Hatcheries in the US tend to breed some high production layers into their dual purpose bird stock to make them better egg layers (they breed them back to "type" so they look like a BO or a BA but have some high production bird in them). They also select against broodiness because they can't have all their egg producers going broody. Both these things lead to hatchery stock, in general, being less broody than show or SOP breeder stock.