Broody hens. A blessing and a plague, all at the same time.
I have lots of broody hens. My big mistake was hatching eggs that came from broody hens. Then every hen that hatched from those eggs was another broody. So definitely don't do that!
What I have done is built and acquired Broody Jails. I have 3 of them. So far I've never had more than 3 hens broody at the same time.
Most of my broodies are Dominiques that I bought from a breeder. Theoretically, hatchery bred birds aren't as broody. Hatcheries tend to breed that trait out. But that's not always the case. My other broodies came from a hatchery, and they are Buff Orps and Blue Andalusians. My hatchery birds that never, never go broody are my red sex links and my easter eggers.
I think that the breed that you choose does make a lot of difference. Although it's not foolproof.
I do allow my hens to hatch eggs occasionally, and when that time comes, I'm delighted that I have broody hens. They are wonderful mothers, and I'll never have to brood chicks in the house again. So that's the bright side.
The darker side is the loss of egg production, and the general pain in the butt that a broody hen presents. One of my favorite things is an old rabbit hutch that we got from my husband's best friend. I tore the front and the insides out and converted it into 2 cages with roosts, and little feeders and waterers. It's big, secure, and out of the way. So it makes breaking my broodies much less of a hassle.
Another thing to consider is that you can sell any excess broody hens that you have. I recently sold one, for a very nice price. I was only joking about it online, and someone read what I wrote, and snapped her right up. If you don't have a broody hen, and want to raise chicks, then the prospect of getting one (and only one!) is very appealing. So that's a thought.
