White leghorn broody?

FC16

Songster
Jun 1, 2021
697
962
201
Cambridgeshire, UK 🇬🇧
I don’t know much as I’ve only had chickens about 8 months, but I didn’t think leghorns could go broody. I don’t know for definite as I haven’t been to the coop, but she hasn’t come out yet today really, she has came out once and she looked very fat and puffy. She stood still then went back in.

Is it possible, for a leghorn, in November??? 🤔🤔
 
I would recommend going to the coop and observing your bird a bit. If she is sitting in a nest and doesn't want to be approached and is actin like a little bomb, she may be broody. Any breed theoretically can go broody. Is it "possible?" SURE! Probable? HECK NO. Go check it out and then let US know if YOU think she is broody or not for real. 🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔
 
I would recommend going to the coop and observing your bird a bit before posing the question on the internet. If she is sitting in a nest and doesn't want to be approached and is actin like a little bomb, she may be broody. Any breed theoretically can go broody. Is it "possible?" SURE! Probable? HECK NO. Go check it out and then let us know if you think she is broody or not for real. 🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔
Hi yeah I just didn’t wanted to disturb her incase she is just laying an egg, she is generally quite a scared chicken who doesn’t like humans so I would be shocked if she is. Will check and update in a bit.
 
False alarm! - sorry!
She heard the sound of the gate and came sprinting out. Maybe she was just cold earlier and I couldn’t tell the difference.
 

Attachments

  • E686A332-4DBF-4327-8420-F7144750530C.jpeg
    E686A332-4DBF-4327-8420-F7144750530C.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 4
Is it possible, for a leghorn, in November???
A little information and some opinions for next time.

It is possible for any hen of any breed to go broody at any time of the year. Some breeds and crosses like Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, and the commercial egg laying hybrids have mostly had the broodiness bred out of them so they very seldom go broody, but every now and then you'll see a story on here where one does. It is highly unlikely your Leghorn will ever go broody but not totally impossible.

That was information, now for opinion. Chickens used to be bound to the natural cycle of seasons but we domesticated them. We bred certain traits into them. They never have a slow season where food is scarce. They often get artificial light, either intentionally or by accident like street lights or security lights. Some even get heat during winter. The seasons don't mean what they used to for the chickens. It is still fairly unusual for a hen to go broody in winter but it can happen. You get some stories on here about that.

While it is possible a Leghorn could go broody in November in the northern hemisphere it would be really unusual.

I've had hens that have a lot of the broody traits, staying on the nest, defending the nest, walking around fluffed up and making that pucking sound, and whatever else a broody hen is supposed to do and still not really be a committed broody deserving eggs to hatch. My test before I give eggs to a broody hen is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead if in her normal sleeping spot. Not one night, it has to be two consecutive nights. That test may fail me one day but so far it hasn't. That other stuff is an indication she might be broody or might be thinking about going broody, to me it is not a definite test.
 
A little information and some opinions for next time.

It is possible for any hen of any breed to go broody at any time of the year. Some breeds and crosses like Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, and the commercial egg laying hybrids have mostly had the broodiness bred out of them so they very seldom go broody, but every now and then you'll see a story on here where one does. It is highly unlikely your Leghorn will ever go broody but not totally impossible.

That was information, now for opinion. Chickens used to be bound to the natural cycle of seasons but we domesticated them. We bred certain traits into them. They never have a slow season where food is scarce. They often get artificial light, either intentionally or by accident like street lights or security lights. Some even get heat during winter. The seasons don't mean what they used to for the chickens. It is still fairly unusual for a hen to go broody in winter but it can happen. You get some stories on here about that.

While it is possible a Leghorn could go broody in November in the northern hemisphere it would be really unusual.

I've had hens that have a lot of the broody traits, staying on the nest, defending the nest, walking around fluffed up and making that pucking sound, and whatever else a broody hen is supposed to do and still not really be a committed broody deserving eggs to hatch. My test before I give eggs to a broody hen is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead if in her normal sleeping spot. Not one night, it has to be two consecutive nights. That test may fail me one day but so far it hasn't. That other stuff is an indication she might be broody or might be thinking about going broody, to me it is not a definite test.
Thankyou for the information I never knew some of that, if one was to go broody, could you place shipped eggs under them? Even if they took a few days to arrive?
 
if one was to go broody, could you place shipped eggs under them? Even if they took a few days to arrive?
Yes, many people do. Many people.

Shipping can be hard on eggs. They may get scrambled from being shaken up or too hot or too cold during shipping. They may be delayed during shipping. You don't know how they were handled before they were shipped. How they are packaged matters.

You will read on here to expect a 50% hatch rate for shipped eggs. To me that does not mean to expect half your eggs to hatch, that hasn't been my experience. I had a 100% success rate once. I've had a 20% and a 33% success rate. I've never had a 0% rate but that could easily happen too. If I average all my shipped egg hatches the average would be pretty close to that 50% but I've never had a 50% shipped egg hatch. It's usually a fair amount higher or lower. It depends on how they were handled during that specific shipping or before.
 
Yes, many people do. Many people.

Shipping can be hard on eggs. They may get scrambled from being shaken up or too hot or too cold during shipping. They may be delayed during shipping. You don't know how they were handled before they were shipped. How they are packaged matters.

You will read on here to expect a 50% hatch rate for shipped eggs. To me that does not mean to expect half your eggs to hatch, that hasn't been my experience. I had a 100% success rate once. I've had a 20% and a 33% success rate. I've never had a 0% rate but that could easily happen too. If I average all my shipped egg hatches the average would be pretty close to that 50% but I've never had a 50% shipped egg hatch. It's usually a fair amount higher or lower. It depends on how they were handled during that specific shipping or before.
Would definitely like to give it a go in the future, in terms of incubating shipped eggs I’ve had a 0% rate before, I didn’t research enough and made multiple mistakes. I didn’t even allow them to rest. My recent shipped eggs of silkies, only 6/12 were actually fertile and I had 5/6 of them hatch.

It’s risky as like you say you don’t know how they were handled, but it’s cool as you can get different breeds that you don’t already have 😃
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom