To broody or not to broody (should I let my hen hatch eggs next year?)

[Cheekychook11]

I have a young Pekin bantam hen who just loves to go broody, none of her siblings have yet but she is determined….
She is I think just under 1 year old and has been laying for a few months now, and has been showing a lot of broody behaviours
Thankfully her broodiness is easy to break by taking away all the eggs, and she’s a sweetie so she doesn’t peck me but hisses
She got very protective of some two week old chicks after meeting them through a fence, chasing away the other hens who came to check them out, then immediately went broody after meeting them
I got a nesting box that’s meant to stop hens from going broody by having them roll away into another section, but she must have seen them and now she sticks her head and neck as far into the draw as they’ll go to try get to the eggs and brood them
I’m thinking of letting her hatch eggs next year, as I am impressed by her determination, will she be old enough by then, and does she sound like a good broody hen?
Also how many eggs can I set under a bantam hen? She’s very fluffy and would cover a few I think
Here’s some pics of how I found her with her head stuck in the egg draw (she’s not stuck there though she looks like it)

 

[Debbie292d]

If she goes broody now, you could let her sit on eggs. Even if it gets cold where you are, they'll stay close to her and cuddle under her to warm up.

It's hard for me to gauge how many eggs for your hen, but with my silkies, they could sit on about 8 just fine. I assume they're about the same size as yours.

 

[BDutch]

Young age is not a problem in a young flock with no bossy older hens.

Separating the broody from the flock is often easiest. Because other hens like to lay extra eggs in the same nest or do want to co-brood (fuzz). A separate small coop and run is very convenient for brooding apart. Use fake eggs for a few days on the right spot to be sure she will hatch them there. In the meantime you can search a supplier of hatching eggs (if you have no rooster).

The number of eggs that fit under a bantam depends highly on the size of the hatching eggs. 6 -7 eggs of the same as her own size eggs are okay. But with bigger eggs 5 seemed to be the max with my small bantams.

 

[BDutch]

Where do you live?
Can you add this in your profile?

I never let my broodies hatch in winter. It’s more difficult to keep the eggs warm (isolation rubber under the bedding) and it’s more difficult for the chicks to make a good start.

 

[Cheekychook11]

If she goes broody now, you could let her sit on eggs. Even if it gets cold where you are, they'll stay close to her and cuddle under her to warm up.

It's hard for me to gauge how many eggs for your hen, but with my silkies, they could sit on about 8 just fine. I assume they're about the same size as yours.

We don’t have any fertilised eggs for her yet, currently growing up this fine boy who will be the father when he matures, it’s pretty warm here so they’d be fine

 

[Cheekychook11]

Where do you live?
Can you add this in your profile?

I never let my broodies hatch in winter. It’s more difficult to keep the eggs warm (isolation rubber under the bedding) and it’s more difficult for the chicks to make a good start.

I live in Australia, it doesn’t get much lower than -10 in winter and never snows, and it’s currently summer

 

[Cheekychook11]

Young age is not a problem in a young flock with no bossy older hens.

Separating the broody from the flock is often easiest. Because other hens like to lay extra eggs in the same nest or do want to co-brood (fuzz). A separate small coop and run is very convenient for brooding apart. Use fake eggs for a few days on the right spot to be sure she will hatch them there. In the meantime you can search a supplier of hatching eggs (if you have no rooster).

The number of eggs that fit under a bantam depends highly on the size of the hatching eggs. 6 -7 eggs of the same as her own size eggs are okay. But with bigger eggs 5 seemed to be the max with my small bantams.

They are kind of large for bantams, I think 7-8 would be fine for her
We do have sassy and bossy birds but they are the same age
I think I’ll separate her if I do decide to let her hatch eggs

 

[BDutch]

Looking back, I am glad I never did what the girls wanted when it came to hatching. I have limited space and just wanted to keep a few pullets every 2-3 year when the older ones started to take long winter breaks. And once after a year with 3 deaths. I don’t want the broodies to breed for other people and don’t want to kill cockerels . Its rarely easy to find a good home for cockerels.

Just sharing my thoughts with you to decide wisely.

 

[Cheekychook11]

Looking back, I am glad I never did what the girls wanted when it came to hatching. I have limited space and just wanted to keep a few pullets every 2-3 year when the older ones started to take long winter breaks. I don’t want the broodies to breed for other people and don’t want to kill cockerels . Its rarely easy to find a good home for cockerels.

Just sharing my thoughts with you to decide wisely.

Yeah I’m planning on hatching some next year, just because I’m curious about genetics, but not too many, I have a lot of people wanting birds, even one willing to take Roos so long as they aren’t aggressive

 

[Debbie292d]

We don’t have any fertilised eggs for her yet, currently growing up this fine boy who will be the father when he matures, it’s pretty warm here so they’d be fine

He's beautiful. Well, then when he's ready, she'll be ready!