What is the Best brooding Chicken Breed?

[texascowboy1979]

Does anyone have a chart or list of what chickens are the BEST brooders, and which are the worst?

My Game hens brood Great!!!, My Cochin... are thinking about it... and my Ararucanas will brood when they feel like it.. Sometimes yes... sometimes no... UGH.

P.S. My Game Hens will take any egg I give them..> They have even hatch duck eggs. Great Mothers. One of my game hens will fight you for at least 5 mins to get you away from her nest... she is NASTY!

 

[Heidi]

It seems my buff orps are always broody. I'm going to try for the first time to hatch a clutch of eggs under one.

 

[Junkmanme]

Quote:
I had very good fortune with my Buff Orpington hens for broodiness. GREAT Mothers too!

Here is a CHART that may be helpful:

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Good Luck !!!
-Junkmanme-

 

[texascowboy1979]

Wow... according to the chart, my Polish, White Faced Black Spanish, and Araucanas are not good brooders... That sucks... It also says that Turkens are good brooders... but my Turken does not care about her eggs. It also says the Cochins brood well, but This is my Cochins 1st time.. not sure if she will brood... I have to wait and see.

I was going to sell off my game hens because I dont want any Game Roosters... but knowing that there the only ones that brood well.. I think Im going to make a pen Just for them with a good rooster. The Only extra Roosters I have is a White Araucana, and a White Sultan. Ill eat there eggs, and use the hens as Foster Mothers for the other chickens eggs...

All birds i dont want to breed I eat. Ive only kept 5 game hens, 2 brown and 3 white. Speaking of which... i have not seen 1 White and 1 Brown Hen... They may be nesting off site... Two of My whites have Araucana eggs or Cochin and Turken Eggs.

 

[Junkmanme]

I have ONE Game-hen who hasn't shown any interest in being broody....but the Buff Orpingtons were handling that job...so she hasn't had a need to pay attention to that.

I've read here at BYC that some folks will separate a hen and put plastic eggs in a nest to encourage broodiness. Maybe it works...I haven't had a need to try it. That MIGHT be something to consider.

GOOD LUCK !!!
-Junkmanme-

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I had 6 Buff Orps. 2 I got as a rescue and 4 I bought from a breeder at 6 wks old. In the year that I had them not one went broody. Even though I had a RIR roo. I still have 2 and they still havn't gone broody. Just my bad luck. Bob cat got 4 of them and the roo. I ended up incubating and now have done 3 batches for a total of 37 chicks. 10, 7. & 3 wks old.

 

[happyhens44]

I have to broodies right now

Australorp: shes a very determained broody... awesome so far

day 12

and I think (game hen/ brown leghorn, Cross)... Pretty good

shes on day 2 and is starting to get the hang of it.

 

[tinychicky]

silkies, especially silkie crosses, cochins, cornish,and other meat breeds

 

[Mrs. K]

I think they do better if two do it at a time. My Buff Op girls were dynamite, remove your arm off at the elbow fiesty if you wanted to look in their nest. I saw one hen, one time off the nest, otherwise they were as tight as ticks. And I peaked often.

Really after doing chicks with a broody, I don't think I will ever go back. That is fun, and very little work! mk

 

[texascowboy1979]

Well, I guess it really has nothing to do with the breed... it mostly depends on the chicken itself...