Is there a specific age on a broody?

[happyhens44]

I have anywhere to 8 months -2years old hens and the 8 month olds haven't had any go broody. About 3 weeks ago I got the 2 year old ones so I don't know if the older ones
have went broody or not


Other info.

13 hens total
-----------/---/------

9 eight month olds
4 two year olds

 

[edselpdx]

Age has little to do with it. Hormones and breed have much more to do with whether your girls go broody. You can't "make" a hen go broody. It just happens. And it's less likely in the dark of winter than spring or summer.

 

[happyhens44]

Ok, thank you. I'm just hopeing by late spring I'd have some chicks running around.

 

[gryeyes]

You can go years without a broody hen. Or you could end up with several broody at once. There's no schedule to it... or way to tell which hen will go broody, until she does.

 

[abhaya]

What breeds are they? Some go broody more than others.

 

[sonew123]

right now I have 3 silkies and a big fat cochin hen broody-all are sitting -hatchinbg or raising chicks that just hatched out been in single digits at night and 20 for high all week

silkies are 1 yrs old cochin is 2

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Some breeds are known for being generally more broody or less broody. Sometimes, it just depends on the strain or genetics of a particular breed. You can breed broodiness into or out of a line of chickens, just like any other quality.

Most of my chickens over the years have tended to not go broody. A few years ago I got a few chickens (of a breed I'd already had) from a particular source and they have been much broodier. None of them went broody as pullets. They were the broodiest their first spring as hens, when they were just a year old. They were all broody at least once that year. At least one was broody 2 or 3 times. In the following years, only half usually go broody and it's only once a year. Thank goodness! Some people have occasionally posted about pullets going broody, but I've never had that happen. I don't know what's most common.

Some of your pullets may decide to go broody next year, when they're a little older. Maybe when spring hits, your new hens will have settled in and be inspired by the longer days, lush grass and warm days. I hope you get all the broodies you want or need. Hens and their chicks are so adorable.

 

[Happy Chooks]

What breeds? Certain breeds like silkies and cochins are pretty much guaranteed to go broody. Orps also tend to go broody.

Age really doesn't matter much. My pure Ameraucana went broody at 7 months old. She hatched all 8 eggs, and was a wonderful mother to them.