What chicken breeds are most likely to go broody?

[Shadrach]

Of course the brooding instinct has been bred out of production breeds. That is the primary means of making them production breeds. Self preservation, territory establishment, and lots of other things have been almost completely erased. No natural chicken would lay 200 eggs a year. They lay a clutch and set on them, only when conditions are right and they feel like it. You couldn't make much money in an egg production facility if your hens laid 30 eggs a year. If my hens eggs disappear from the nest, they consider it an unsuitable nesting site, and eat their eggs as soon as they lay them for a couple days until they turn off egg production. Once they turn it off, they won't start again until they are moved. You can replace their eggs, but only until there are a couple dozen at most, then they turn off egg production and set. The only way you can experience a chicken in it's natural form is to keep birds that haven't been dumbed down by selective breeding for egg or meat production. And you won't find birds like that at any hatchery or feed store.

Early chicken breeders selected birds that were too stupid to notice their eggs were missing, that didn't mind being in the proximity of other chickens that were nesting, that didn't set on eggs as soon as there was a clutch. You are basing everything on chickens that have had hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of being selected for unnatural traits. The birds traditionally used for hatching were always present, until recent times, when it became unfavorable to possess those birds, and as incubators became prevalent. Birds with all of their natural instincts intact, very different from what you get at hatcheries and feed stores today.

Hmmm, I wonder what you would define as production breeds.
Would you define them by the number of eggs they lay each year?
What about the more common breeds in the USA favored by backyard flock keepers?
Some of these are in the 200+ eggs a year class yet they still go broody; not as easily or as regularly but they do it.
How about the various 'production' breeds (depending on definition) that have gone feral in a number of places and produced progeny?
I don't think it's quite as clear cut as your post above suggests.
I would however agree that the chickens that people buy at hatcheries and farm stores are markedly different to the jungle fowl and many game varieties.
I've got a study or two on comparative genetics somewhere. I might dig them up if I can find the interest.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree that the game type birds are most likely to be reliable broody hens, and that high egg producing breeds are selected for the lack of this trait.
Of course exceptions abound!
Many bantam breed hens will be broody, including of course Silkies, and my favorite, Belgian d'Uccles. However, these hens are small and so can't set on a lot of standard sized eggs, compared to what they can bantam eggs.
Chicks raised by a broody hen may also have similar genetics, if from the same flock, and selection is at work again, in addition to life experience.
Mary

 

[HuffleClaw]

Hens that were raised by broody hens are most likely to sit, regardless of the breed.
View attachment 1879330

Where did you get this information? Because it’s not particularly true...

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Where did you get this information? Because it’s not particularly true...

yea I know now.
I read about it on some silly article.
My bad.

 

[sdm111]

Where did you get this information? Because it’s not particularly true...

X2 I'd like to see that aswell

Game hens are where its,areas far as broodies

 

[Laurel09]

Of my six BO's, I think five went broody their first year, shortly after they started laying good, essentially stopping production for the summer. That was last year. This year not a single one has gone broody out of the ones I have left . So I don't know! They just do what they want to do!

Hey there, after laying how many eggs do your hens usually go broody?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hey there, after laying how many eggs do your hens usually go broody?

Oh, I can't answer this! First, there is no "usual," what they did last year - their first year of laying - they did not do this year. Second, I didn't count! I have no way of knowing who is laying what. They went into broody behavior one after the other, much to my disgust, as I was looking forward to having lots of eggs to sell. Phht! Didn't happen! This was my first experience with BOs and it will be my last. They are calm, personable birds but I will stick with my EEs, which are equally calm and personable, lay lots of (smaller) eggs and don't go broody.

 

[Kabootar]

Okay

thanks, I was going to buy the hens from a lady who has a large flock of about 130 backyard chickens. Call her crazy but she is totally against using incubators, all her chickens are hatched and raised by broody
hens but she never sells to anyone any of her breeders and sells their offsprings. So if I buy from her I might actually get some that might go broody. She currently is selling 5 to six months old birds. I think I'm going to get one from her

There's nothing wrong with that woman. I have like 500 birds ( I only have a rough idea about their population) and I only use hens to hatch chicks and I am strictly against using incubators.

 

[Kabootar]

Hie guys!

I want to add two new hens to my backyard flock but I want hens that are most likely to go broody.

Any advice on which chicken breeds that I should buy that are the most broody ones.

Aseels are most reliable broody hens, they have fantastic mothering abilities. Other than that most Asian breeds (one with feathered feet) like Cochin, Brahma and Silkies will go broody regularly. English breeds like Cornish,Wyandottes and Dorking go broody fairly often.

With the exception of silkies (I don't like them) I have all of the above mentioned breeds and I am very pleased with their performance.

 

[Folly's place]

I also prefer having chicks raised by broodies, although I also buy some chicks and use a brooder.