non broody hens

[dottik]

my hens are 10 months old.i have 2 ply rocks and 2 rhode reds.they will not sit on the eggs.i have left eggs in there taking old ones out.ive tried plastic.just cant figure why any of them arent laying on eggs.i heard at chicken swap yesterday if the chicks were not hatched by mother they wouldnt go broody?

 

[Top Rooster]

Are you wanting them to go broody? They may not go broody this year they don't usually go broody on their first year maybe next year. Those breeds aren't known for going broody so they may not even next year, if you get some buff orphingtons or silkies or bantams they will most likely go broody. But I won't say it's impossible for them to go broody because they have before and I've even had Leghorns go broody.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Not exactly. But RIR and BR are bred for production, not broodiness. That is, broodiness tends to be an inherited trait and breeders will only want eggs from non-broodies for production breeds like this. The more time a hen spends sitting and then raising chicks, the fewer eggs you get a year, and a lot of people do not want to deal with broodies.

So, the eggs from the hens that are not inclined to broodiness are the ones that are set into an incubator, but it is not the incubation that causes the non-broodiness, it is the fact that they came from non-broody lines, if that makes sense.

Get yourself some bantams if you want broodies.

 

[KJS]

I have the same problem, my Buff Orphinton hen will not go broody