Informal research poll on broodiness

[LaurenRitz]

Do you have chickens that go broody? I am curious to see if there are even mild similarities in management.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Yes, I free range.
The broodys don't while their broody.
Of the 2 broodys I've had/have....
1 was hand raised from day old.
1 was broody raised from above broody.
There both broody together right now.
Yes, I have roosters and feed All-Flock

ETA... Your poll is slightly confusing.

 

[Perris]

Should breed be included (production v. other), since a lot of people think that has a lot to do with it? (and the management style often reflects the breed being kept)

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have birds go broody but I don't think any of the above choices reflect my management so I didn't choose anything. Like I don't free range but they also don't stay in the coop around the clock. I don't have a rooster. I don't incubate nor do I have broodies raise chicks (I buy chicks from a feed store). I feed 2 types of feed.

So long story short, yes I have birds go broody. But none of the poll options apply to me or maybe I'm misunderstanding the options.

 

[McChooky]

I think the incubator question means were our chicks incubated or purchased as incubated(hatchery or other purchase) or raised by broody hens lol Maybe I'm wrong lol

 

[fluffycrow]

I have multiple pens, so it's best to try and type it all out.



Pen number one: Dawn to Dusk free ranging landrace group (also has an aseel×brahma mix pullet): They are covered by one mature three year old rooster, and his son (still a cockerel), who will be leaving us soon. They are fed 50% layer, 50% "grower", plus whatever they find out on free range. Ages range from 3 years old, to almost 10 months old. None have gone broody



Pen number two: consists of 7 mix breed bantams. Two adult hens, and the five offspring of one of the adult hens. Both the mature hens have gone broody. The one that has offspring has gone broody three times, the other one only once. They have never free ranged. The first (unsuccessful) time time the mature hen, a pullet at the time was broody, they were in with a silkie mix cockerel. The second (successful) time she was broody, there were no males. She was given eggs from the landraces. The third (and successful) time she went broody, she was in with my pure serama cockerel. She had 14 of her own eggs hatch. It was also the day she turned 1. Hasn't gone broody since. The other mature hen went broody around the time her pen mate hatched her last brood. She gave up to co-mother the chicks. They have always been fed 100% grower.







Pen number 3: pure serama pen. All are about to be one year old. They're fed a 100% grower feed in one feeder, and 100% layer in another one. One cockerel, 3 pullets. Never gone broody, although the cockerel was an amazing father to the mix breed bantam's chicks.







Pen number 4: two mature brahma hens (unknown age), and one two year old aseel (possibly mixed) rooster. They're dawn to Dusk rangers (most recent addition, since it's only been a month since I've managed to free range all the LFs at the same time). They've formed a tribal system of sorts, the group from pen one and this group don't mix. They're fed 70% grower, 30% seed mix, plus whatever they can forage. None have gone broody in my care, although one of the brahma hens did go broody the spring before I got her.







In addition to the normal feed, they all get table scraps

 

[NatJ]

I have had hens that go broody at various times over quite a few years' time.
Management has shifted around over the years, and I don't remember all the details, but broodies have definitely included:

--hens that could range freely during the daytime but were penned up at night
--hens that were penned up at all times (including some that were housed in a coop 4x8 feet, allowing 4 square feet per standard sized hen or 2 square feet per bantam hen, with no run or range at all. Broodies have also happened when confined hens had more space per hen, and/or were in other sizes of coops.)

--broodies that were bought as chicks from a commercial hatchery, so they were hatched in an incubator, shipped through the mail, and raised in a brooder
--hatched in an incubator at my house, raised in a brooder
--each of those sources, but raised by a broody hen

--hens with free access to both a high-protein and low-protein feed (most often gamebird starter for high protein, plain corn and/or a container of suet or tallow for a low protein energy source, with a variety of kitchen scraps each day as well.)

--flocks with one or more roosters
--flocks with no roosters

--hens kept in a group as small as 3 or 4, or as large as 40+

Overall, I've had more broodies in confined flocks with no roosters, but that is probably because I have had such flocks more often than I have had flocks that ranged and/or had roosters.

Regarding breeds, broodies have included:
--Light Brahma
--Partridge Chantecler
--Easter Egger bantam
--standard size Dark Cornish and White Laced Red Cornish
--bantam Cornish in Dark, Spangled, either White Laced or Splash Laced Red
--"Red Jungle Fowl" from a major hatchery (probably a domesticated version, not actual wild ones, given that they acted much like any other domesticated chicken)
--Black Sumatra
--Red Shouldered White Yokohama
--bantam Barred Rock
--Black Tailed Buff Japanese Bantam
--Old English Game bantams in Red Quill, Wheaten, Mille Fleur
--bantams with mixed ancestry of OEGB and Easter Egger bantams that had not been broody

I have had non-broody individuals of I think all those breeds and a number of other breeds. Number of chickens per breed has generally been small enough that I can't say how likely they are to go broody (a sample size of 1 to 4 hens per breed is not enough to get accurate numbers!)

 

[RubelliteRose]

I have had 2 hens go broody. I free range most days and feed Purina Flock Raiser. I currently have 2 roosters and 14 hens.
Broody #1 went broody 2 years ago - one time only. She is a McMurry Americuana(EE). She raised our 2 current roosters.
Broody #2 also went broody 2 years ago and is currently broody, due to hatch tomorrow. She is a BCM from SpitzBros.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Do you have chickens that go broody? I am curious to see if there are even mild similarities in management.

I recently had 2 hens I bought from rural king back in september going broody together. they accidently sat on the eggs, and so only had one surviving chick. I let them keep it for a couple days, but after a string of fox attacks that took 14 of my half grown chicks, I relocated just the chick to a brooder with some similarly aged incubator birds, for safety reasons.

 

[fluffycrow]

I have multiple pens, so it's best to try and type it all out.



Pen number one: Dawn to Dusk free ranging landrace group (also has an aseel×brahma mix pullet): They are covered by one mature three year old rooster, and his son (still a cockerel), who will be leaving us soon. They are fed 50% layer, 50% "grower", plus whatever they find out on free range. Ages range from 3 years old, to almost 10 months old. None have gone broody



Pen number two: consists of 7 mix breed bantams. Two adult hens, and the five offspring of one of the adult hens. Both the mature hens have gone broody. The one that has offspring has gone broody three times, the other one only once. They have never free ranged. The first (unsuccessful) time time the mature hen, a pullet at the time was broody, they were in with a silkie mix cockerel. The second (successful) time she was broody, there were no males. She was given eggs from the landraces. The third (and successful) time she went broody, she was in with my pure serama cockerel. She had 14 of her own eggs hatch. It was also the day she turned 1. Hasn't gone broody since. The other mature hen went broody around the time her pen mate hatched her last brood. She gave up to co-mother the chicks. They have always been fed 100% grower.







Pen number 3: pure serama pen. All are about to be one year old. They're fed a 100% grower feed in one feeder, and 100% layer in another one. One cockerel, 3 pullets. Never gone broody, although the cockerel was an amazing father to the mix breed bantam's chicks.







Pen number 4: two mature brahma hens (unknown age), and one two year old aseel (possibly mixed) rooster. They're dawn to Dusk rangers (most recent addition, since it's only been a month since I've managed to free range all the LFs at the same time). They've formed a tribal system of sorts, the group from pen one and this group don't mix. They're fed 70% grower, 30% seed mix, plus whatever they can forage. None have gone broody in my care, although one of the brahma hens did go broody the spring before I got her.







In addition to the normal feed, they all get table scraps

Forgot to add:



The brahma hens, the serama, and the mature mix breed bantams, I don't know how they were raised. All the birds in pen 1, except for one pullet and the cockerel were brooded in an incubator, amd raised in the brooder. The other two were brooded by the mature mix breed bantam, and raised by her. The biologic offspring of the mix breed bantam were broody raised and hatched, as was the aseel rooster