Want Broody hens that do well in confinement...

[aclee]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Silkies, Cochin Bantams, Buff Orpingtons.

I have BOs and they're really broody and Cochins .. they are VERY broody also! I think Cochins are just as broody as Silkies! lol

BO's are also considered a dual purpose bird right? I think they are also cold weather hardy....How do they do in confinement?​

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

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BO's are also considered a dual purpose bird right? I think they are also cold weather hardy....How do they do in confinement?

Yes, they are a "Daul-purpose" chicken. They do pretty well in comfinedment, but I free range mine. But I'm sure they would do just fine in confinedment as well. They do very good in winter/summer, they also lay pretty well, too.

 

[aclee]

maybe I'll have to consider a couple of BO for my broody hens, wish they laid an unusual egg though...even a really dark brown. I guess there ain't nothing wrong with brown eggs though, that's what I buy in the store!

I wonder what would be easier to find as an adult, a BO or a silkie...

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

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Silkies, and Buff Orpingtons are both pretty easy to find. Just about every hatchery has them.

I might get BOs and Silkie and try both of them out!

I'm getting some baby silkies from a breeder and some guinea keet, I gotta try silkies out! I have 1 white silkie roo I got from the breeder a few years ago but I haven't ever gotten any chicks out of him.

 

[aclee]

Yeah...I'm really, really hoping to find one that is sexed already...seems like that is hard to find with the silkies...

 

[Shared Acres]

We have SIlkies and we got Cochins because they are supposed to be just as broody. The Silkies do very well in small rabbit hutches while brooding.

I find they only cover about 6-8 eggs comfortably. So, other then that, if you bought a lot of eggs, you could put eggs in an incubator at the same time she's hatching and give her the babies as they hatch (just pop them under her) and let her raise them thinking she sat on them. I've got a hen doing that right now.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

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They sex Buff Orpingtons, and there is a place the sexes silkies ... www.mypetchicken.com
They sex bantams and you can get as few as 3!!! But if you get sexed bantams they are like ... 10 dollars per chick.

 

[TimG]

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Well, Easter Egger isn't a breed, but rather a general description of mutts that lay colored eggs, so you don't really ever know what you'll be getting with an EE. May be cold tolerant, may not be; may be a good broody, may not be; may grow big for meat, may not. My two year-old EE is the hen in my flock that is least tolerant of confinement and the quickest to run from human contact, she's also amongst the smallest.

In answer to the question about placing fertile eggs under a broody hen, yes you can do that, lots of people do with success.

I've had hens off and on for about seven years, sometimes I have had a rooster, sometimes not, and I have never had a broody hen. I'm quite jealous of those who complain about their hens going broody all the time -- I would love to have a natural hatch.

 

[aclee]

Quote:
Well, Easter Egger isn't a breed, but rather a general description of mutts that lay colored eggs, so you don't really ever know what you'll be getting with an EE. May be cold tolerant, may not be; may be a good broody, may not be; may grow big for meat, may not. My two year-old EE is the hen in my flock that is least tolerant of confinement and the quickest to run from human contact, she's also amongst the smallest.

In answer to the question about placing fertile eggs under a broody hen, yes you can do that, lots of people do with success.

I've had hens off and on for about seven years, sometimes I have had a rooster, sometimes not, and I have never had a broody hen. I'm quite jealous of those who complain about their hens going broody all the time -- I would love to have a natural hatch.

Okay well that might rule out the EE. I really must have birds that do well in cold, and will do well when confined. I was hoping those birds would also have some nice egg colors. Maybe I can find a nice dark chocolate egg layer that does well in cold and confinement. Gosh that sounds like a real party for the chickens...cold confinement...

I don't mind if my egg layers are not broody. I basically want most of my birds to be good dual purpose birds (so roosters can go to freezer) with one or two birds that can hatch eggs for me, because I really don't want to get an incubator. I would just buy hatching eggs to put under broody hen if she does go broody. I'm thinking about the BO or Cochin now because I'm concerned that the silkie might not be able to cover enough eggs. I guess if I had two silkies, I could split the eggs I buy to hatch between them if I wait till they are both broody.

I'm sure the chickens will behave just as I want them too right??

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Two silkies could always share a nest. I've had alot of chickens that would both set on the same nest. It's funny, because when one goes to eat/drink then the other hen trys to steal all the eggs and when the other hen comes back she steals abunch back! lol