Which broody hen breed to add to existing flock?

[629864]

Dont give up on the hens you have.
Your RIR's, that are actually Isa Browns, comets or other sex link egg producers might go broody.
A few years ago i adopted six 3 yr old Isa brown hens from a production farm and the first year i had them, one went broody and sucsesfully hatched chicks and was a wonderful mother.
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That's awesome! Mine are also from a production farm, about 1.5-2 years old.

 

[Happy hen lover]

My

I'm surprised one of your RIRs haven't volunteered yet. You aren't talking about the bird perched on your foot in your avatar, correct? That bird is a production red, not a RIR.
I have a Black Australorp that is my go to broody hen. She is quite a force to be reckoned with. The breed is claimed to be "broody". Cuckoo Marans can also flip to the dark side and are a larger bird.
One of your EEs may also volunteer.
The fact is, there is no guarantee that any pullet or hen will go broody for you. It has a lot to do with hormone levels and the environment in which they live (the way you manage them).

My Black Australorp is my broody girl too.

 

[NatJ]

We want a sustainable flock, so we need a hen or two that will keep us in regular chicks, but not be bullied by our current flock members.

Some chickens I've had go broody:
Red Shouldered White Yokohama from McMurray Hatchery
Dark Cornish (Standard size) from McMurray Hatchery
White Laced Red Cornish (Standard size) from Ideal Poultry
Old English Game Bantams from Ideal Poultry, several colors
Cornish Bantams from Ideal Poultry, several colors

I was dealing with small numbers, so I have no idea what is "normal" for each breed. But for each of those breeds, at least half of them went broody (the only one I had, or at least one when I had two, or at least two when I had three.)

For the bantams, I had some in with standard sized chickens, and they were fine. My guess is that the other ones would also have been fine with standard-size chickens.

The Old English Game Bantams went broody the most frequently (lay a dozen eggs, go broody, raise chicks, repeat.) Of course the bigger birds could cover more eggs per batch, so they might raise just as many chicks per year and also provide more eggs for eating.

 

[629864]

@NatJ That's really helpful feedback. I really appreciate it.

 

[NatJ]

@NatJ That's really helpful feedback. I really appreciate it.

I realized I forgot one breed:
"Indian Red Jungle Fowl" from Ideal Poultry
They aren't really wild birds, just small chickens, and the two I had definitely went broody.

I didn't keep them long, because they were good at flying over fences, and kept trying to sleep in trees. I'm pretty good at finding chickens that try to sleep in trees, but these were very good at hiding.

I gave one to a friend, and last I heard that hen was still doing well for them: sleeping in a tree (avoiding the predators that catch other tree-sleeping chickens there), and hatching several batches of chicks. My friend told a story of the hen taking her chicks up into a tree at night, calling them from branch to branch up the tree, even before they could fly!

So for a care-for-themself situation, that might be a breed to consider!

 

[lilmillefleur]

for broodiness I think cochins or silkies are best. They are the only ones that frequently go broody in my flock (though my EE did once as well)

 

[lomine]

My successful broodies have been
2 Blue Ameraucanas- 2-3 clutches per season, will raise anything I stick under them
Splash Ameraucana - raised by one of the Blues and by far the most successful, kind of on the crazy side, even the dog gives this momma a wide berth
Black Australorp - feed store chick, raised 2 clutches in her first laying season (this year) and the older pullets she raised hung out with her and the younger chicks. Like big sisters/babysitters
Silkie - sometimes tries to sit during bad times, like winter
Ameraucana/Cochin cross - raised by Silkie

I've had a few others that would sit but couldn't get any to hatch and/or wouldn't care for the chicks. Some would sit but basically broke all the eggs or they rotted. I think one key thing is to give them a nest box/area they like and leave them be. I let mine sit when and where they want (within reason) and they raise the chicks with the flock. Sometimes having 2 or 3 broodies at the same time can be chaotic, but they have plenty of room to claim their own space.

 

[3KillerBs]

I think one key thing is to give them a nest box/area they like and leave them be. I let mine sit when and where they want (within reason) and they raise the chicks with the flock. Sometimes having 2 or 3 broodies at the same time can be chaotic, but they have plenty of room to claim their own space.

Informative!