Where to a Broody Hen?

[VolailleAmant]

I would like to get a couple broody hens and a rooster of that same breed, but where do I keep them?
I already have 14 Isa Brown hens and if I get a rooster for the broodies, will it go around trying to fertilize the Isa's? (and I DO NOT want that)

Also, will broody hens sit on ANY clutch of eggs or JUST her fertilized ones? How will I know which eggs are fertile and which ones aren't?
Help!

Thank you!

 

[lcertuche]

Just buy hens and they will hatch any ones eggs. I used to have game hens and they would hatch 2 and 3 clutches of eggs in the summer. I went from 10 hens and 1 rooster, to 60+ chickens in a years time. Get a broody breed and you will never have to order chicks again. Another good thing is they are excellent mothers teaching their chicks to hide when hawks fly over, calling them when they found something good to eat, how to roost, etc. There are other breeds that are broody but my experience is only with game hens. They are a small chicken that lays small to medium size eggs, not really white but not brown either. They are healthy too, I never had a sick chicken and very few injured because they are weary of predators. They will roost all the way to the rafters given a chance. They also fly over fences pretty easily so you may want to clip on wing every month if you want them penned up.

 

[junebuggena]

Lots of breeds are prone to going broody. Silkies, Cochins, and Orpingtons are popular choices for those who want a few broody hens. Keeping a rooster in with only two hens full time is not generally a good idea. Most roosters will over mate hens when there are so few. Also, fertile ISA Brown eggs are no big deal. Eggs do not spontaneously begin to develop on their own. A broody will sit on just about anything, or even on nothing.
Broody hens are usually only broody once a year. And there is no way to 'force' her to brood. And allowing hens that are broody to share a brooding space is generally a bad idea. Hens have been known to kill chicks that aren't 'theirs'. And just because a hen does go broody is no guarantee that she's going to be a good mom, or that she's going to sit for the full 21 days it takes to hatch chicks.

 

[VolailleAmant]

So Would a rooster fertilize Isa Brown eggs?
If they did, what would happen to the eggs? I sell the eggs and I don't want people coming to me and complaining "i found a chick in my frying pan"

another way I am thinking about~ Buying already fertile eggs without the rooster-hassle. What do you think?

 

[junebuggena]

If a rooster has access to the Isa Browns, he will mate them. A fertile egg is no different from an infertile egg. Eggs do not spontaneously develop. An egg must be kept at a constant 100* for several days for any development to begin. There will be no chicks in frying pans, as long as eggs are collected once or twice a day.
Lots of people choose to buy hatching eggs for their hens to hatch, once they go broody. However, shipped eggs do not have very good hatch rates. And about half the chicks hatched will be male. You need to have a plan for what to do with the boys. When ordering shipped eggs, it's a very 'buyer beware' thing. Sometimes you get exactly what was advertised. Often times, you get chicks that are nothing like the breed they were supposed to be.

 

[lcertuche]

Are you wanting to raise Isa Browns to sell as Isa Browns? Whatever broody breed you get, if you want Isa Browns then get an Isa Brown rooster. Collect those eggs to be hatched and eat the others. If they are just being sold as eggs to eat it makes no difference what kind of rooster or even if you have a rooster. If all you want is eggs forget the rooster. If you want two breeds of chickens that don't breed mixed then you will have to have at least 10 or more hens and one rooster per breed and have their own separate run if you want chicks. If they are in the same run or free range then they are going to breed, interbreed, or mixed breed. For just a home flock it may not matter if they are mixed breed. Some of the best layers and broilers have been the result of mixed breeds.

 

[junebuggena]

Are you wanting to raise Isa Browns to sell as Isa Browns? Whatever broody breed you get, if you want Isa Browns then get an Isa Brown rooster. Collect those eggs to be hatched and eat the others. If they are just being sold as eggs to eat it makes no difference what kind of rooster or even if you have a rooster. If all you want is eggs forget the rooster. If you want two breeds of chickens that don't breed mixed then you will have to have at least 10 or more hens and one rooster per breed and have their own separate run if you want chicks. If they are in the same run or free range then they are going to breed, interbreed, or mixed breed. For just a home flock it may not matter if they are mixed breed. Some of the best layers and broilers have been the result of mixed breeds.

Actually, you can not get Isa Browns from breeding a male Isa and a female Isa together. They are a sexlinked mixed breed, and do not breed true.

 

[VolailleAmant]

This is great advise! Thank you!

 

[VolailleAmant]

thank you!

 

[lcertuche]

That's interesting about Isa Browns being sex links. I'm not familiar with Isa Brown. Are they egg layers, dual purpose or broiler types? I have some black sex links. They are RIR daddy and BR mama. The one and only female is huge compared to all the other chickens her age but the males are all average sized. I beginning to wonder if she is really a black sex link. She is black with brownish red around her neck but her legs are black whereas the boys legs are yellow.