Why can a broody......

[NatJ]

Of course, the one time we tried tucking day-old chicks under her, she freaked out, had to raise them under the heat plate, after all.

Did you let her set for a few weeks first, or give them to her right after she went broody?

 

[BDutch]

It see most any breed of hen can decide she would like to be broody, but there is no guarantee that certain breeds will be broody. Then, its also a roll of the dice if a broody will be a good mom. It seems it would be easiest to make an ISO post or watch for someone that has a proven broody to rehome On a local FB group.

I often wonder if broody raised chicks are more predisposed to being broody?

It’s not a decision of the hen IMO. Hormones/intuition and breed are more likely.

I have /had 5 out of 6 Dutch bantams who get broody a few times every year. 3 have proven to be excellent mothers. A few years back I bought other fertile eggs to hatch by my Dutch Bantams. These are bantams too, Naine de Tournaisis. They never got broody.

Letting 4 or more (fake) eggs in the nest is a trigger to get broody. And they like sharing a nest.

Last year I sold one of my older broodies with 2 male chicks for a nice price.

Has anyone had a PC that goes broody often?

My PC can do a lot of things. Helps me typing, calculating, nows the time, etc. But is does not go broody.

Many say 10sq ft per bird outdoor space *minimum*. If you plan to have a broody raise chicks with the flock they need much more space. Broodies typically do not want other birds within 6' of their babies and fights will ensue.

Mama hens with chicks in over-crowded pens would be a disaster.

4 sq ft is asking for problems (stressed chickens and health problems).

For organic eggs we have a government rule to give chickens at least 4m2 (43sq ft) outdoor space each. This counts for Laying Hybrids of course. If you only have bantams you need about half the space. But it depends on the breed too. A mixed flock needs more space than just one breed. And a calm & small breed like the bearded Belgian d’Uccle don’t need much space at all.

P.s: Silkies and bantam Cochins can be a pain in the ass if you only want a broody for maintenance of a small flock. My tiny Dutch are easy to stop being broody. Wyandotte’s often get broody too and easier to stop too. There are more breeds that get broody. The must be a article on that. If I find it, I will ad it here.

Ps2:overview in a list https://www.backyardchickens.com/hredirect2.php?c=5434339

 

[Shadrach]

Why do roosters help?

A full explanation requires a lot of reading of the supporting evidence and quite a lot of further explanation. Let’s see if I can present a simplified explanation without making too much of a mess of it.

There is a theory, with a great deal of supporting evidence that most creatures use something called an investment strategy when choosing when to procreate, and who with. The various factors that go to influence this strategy vary from species to species but the bottom line is, the investor, in this case the hen, is looking to pass on the ‘best’ genetic traits that will help to ensure the survival of her offspring.

Most creatures also have some form of fertility control. This may be as simple as running away from the attentions of an unsuitable mate to various forms of what we would call birth control. Female rats for example have the ability to increase, or decrease their reproductive capacity. If the rat population to which she belongs is declining she can speed up her reproductive cycle to produce more baby rats to maintain a nominal population.

Humans also have the ability to make judgments when it comes to an investment strategy. As a somewhat trite example, it is not uncommon to hear a women say that her boyfriend is super cute, but not father material. I think that’s politely put. In effect she’s making an investment strategy judgment.

Chickens are quite complicated compared to many other creatures when it comes to an investment strategy. They are also far more intelligent and versatile then they are given credit in general for when making a decision about when to sit and hatch and who should fertilise their eggs.

Poor popular science for example would have us believe from laboratory experiences that the size of a roosters comb is a major contributing factor in a hens choice of mate. It may indeed be true in a laboratory because the hen doesn’t have much more information to go on. In a natural setting where there may be multiple roosters and unlimited freedom of movement the hen gets many more clues as to the roosters suitability as a father.

Hens also have the ability to eject the sperm from the unwanted attentions of a rooster. So, even if she is forced to mate with say a junior or rouge rooster, she can terminate the fertilisation of her egg. She may also fight the uninvited rooster off and failing all else run away, or jump into a tree where the rooster is unable to make the neck grab needed to make her crouch for mating.
The hen has lots of options.

Having such a wide range of options and watching the behaviour of feral and free range chickens it becomes apparent that hens are choosy about who they mate with and under which circumstances.

I could type out pages of examples of hens choosing their rooster and each page would include a different criteria. However, there are some basic components to choosing a mate that in general have applied to most of the hens here.

The senior rooster of a flock, or in my case tribes is generally preferred by the hens. The logic is simple, he didn’t get to be senior by luck in most cases. The senior rooster, in the right keeping conditions will offer both her and any chicks a higher level of protection from other flock members and predators.

Having the senior rooster as dad means the flock or tribe will be able to access more resources such as best forage spots, dust baths and shelter than some young upstart of a cockerel. The hen has it seems the ability to take these factors into account when choosing a mate. There are I believe many factors that influence the hens choice right down to the rooster being a nice chap.

From what I and others have observed it would seem that a hen may plan to reproduce long before she goes broody. It would take pages to explain why some believe this so just accept this as my and a few others observations possibly relevant to out keeping circumstances.

It seems reasonable if humans can plan, much of the planning may be at a subconscious level when to have children and there is evidence that other creatures may do this then it is also possible that hens can, particularly when all their other investment strategy tools are taken into account.

For humans basics are having a male to breed with. Not a lot of point in going broody if you can’t get your eggs fertilised. Having an ample supply of food available is important for any species. Having the protection provide by a male is also a factor. There are many factors that could be relevant but what needs to be born in mind is the factors change with environmental circumstances.

So, in theory if one wants to encourage a hen to go broody then one needs to think about all the factors that may help to promote the feeling/drive to reproduce and as can hopefully see from my explanation above, a rooster is one of those factors.

 

[Ruthster55]

A full explanation requires a lot of reading of the supporting evidence and quite a lot of further explanation. Let’s see if I can present a simplified explanation without making too much of a mess of it.

There is a theory, with a great deal of supporting evidence that most creatures use something called an investment strategy when choosing when to procreate, and who with. The various factors that go to influence this strategy vary from species to species but the bottom line is, the investor, in this case the hen, is looking to pass on the ‘best’ genetic traits that will help to ensure the survival of her offspring.

Most creatures also have some form of fertility control. This may be as simple as running away from the attentions of an unsuitable mate to various forms of what we would call birth control. Female rats for example have the ability to increase, or decrease their reproductive capacity. If the rat population to which she belongs is declining she can speed up her reproductive cycle to produce more baby rats to maintain a nominal population.

Humans also have the ability to make judgments when it comes to an investment strategy. As a somewhat trite example, it is not uncommon to hear a women say that her boyfriend is super cute, but not father material. I think that’s politely put. In effect she’s making an investment strategy judgment.

Chickens are quite complicated compared to many other creatures when it comes to an investment strategy. They are also far more intelligent and versatile then they are given credit in general for when making a decision about when to sit and hatch and who should fertilise their eggs.

Poor popular science for example would have us believe from laboratory experiences that the size of a roosters comb is a major contributing factor in a hens choice of mate. It may indeed be true in a laboratory because the hen doesn’t have much more information to go on. In a natural setting where there may be multiple roosters and unlimited freedom of movement the hen gets many more clues as to the roosters suitability as a father.

Hens also have the ability to eject the sperm from the unwanted attentions of a rooster. So, even if she is forced to mate with say a junior or rouge rooster, she can terminate the fertilisation of her egg. She may also fight the uninvited rooster off and failing all else run away, or jump into a tree where the rooster is unable to make the neck grab needed to make her crouch for mating.
The hen has lots of options.

Having such a wide range of options and watching the behaviour of feral and free range chickens it becomes apparent that hens are choosy about who they mate with and under which circumstances.

I could type out pages of examples of hens choosing their rooster and each page would include a different criteria. However, there are some basic components to choosing a mate that in general have applied to most of the hens here.

The senior rooster of a flock, or in my case tribes is generally preferred by the hens. The logic is simple, he didn’t get to be senior by luck in most cases. The senior rooster, in the right keeping conditions will offer both her and any chicks a higher level of protection from other flock members and predators.

Having the senior rooster as dad means the flock or tribe will be able to access more resources such as best forage spots, dust baths and shelter than some young upstart of a cockerel. The hen has it seems the ability to take these factors into account when choosing a mate. There are I believe many factors that influence the hens choice right down to the rooster being a nice chap.

From what I and others have observed it would seem that a hen may plan to reproduce long before she goes broody. It would take pages to explain why some believe this so just accept this as my and a few others observations possibly relevant to out keeping circumstances.

It seems reasonable if humans can plan, much of the planning may be at a subconscious level when to have children and there is evidence that other creatures may do this then it is also possible that hens can, particularly when all their other investment strategy tools are taken into account.

For humans basics are having a male to breed with. Not a lot of point in going broody if you can’t get your eggs fertilised. Having an ample supply of food available is important for any species. Having the protection provide by a male is also a factor. There are many factors that could be relevant but what needs to be born in mind is the factors change with environmental circumstances.

So, in theory if one wants to encourage a hen to go broody then one needs to think about all the factors that may help to promote the feeling/drive to reproduce and as can hopefully see from my explanation above, a rooster is one of those factors.

Mine started to get going after a major improvement to the safety of the chicken run.

Around the beginning of quarantine, I also sold a pair of geese plus a drake and a couple of ducks. (because of the noise and not having a pond). Drake would sometimes chase the chickens around.

Although the first hen was brooding at the time the waterfowl were still present, their removal seemed to put the other hens in a more relaxed mode.

The factors I can identify in my multiple-broody situation are:

1. Better run security. Dogs can't enter the run anymore. As of November 2019.
2. Breed. Two new Game hens present among barnyard mixes starting in February
3. Rooster. Well, a rooster has been mostly always present.
4. Girly jealousy. Sight and sound of other hen's chicks makes the hens want to hatch their own!
5. Stress Reduction from removing constantly quacking ducks.
6. Missing picking up eggs, especially in old out-of-the-way nest boxes
7. Climate. Never gets really cold here.

 

[Douglas Colman]

You have a good sized brooder so the heat lamp isn’t suffocating the chicks. I dare say a lot of people (mainly first timers, including me) use/used a brooder much smaller than yours. There’s not enough room for the chicks to escape the heat.

I always look at the chicks and ducklings every time I go into TSC. Sadly, this last time, the chicks and ducks were panting heavily. There wasn’t enough room to escape the heat. It breaks my heart.

You have a good sized brooder so the heat lamp isn’t suffocating the chicks. I dare say a lot of people (mainly first timers, including me) use/used a brooder much smaller than yours. There’s not enough room for the chicks to escape the heat.

I always look at the chicks and ducklings every time I go into TSC. Sadly, this last time, the chicks and ducks were panting heavily. There wasn’t enough room to escape the heat. It breaks my heart.

I don't know what your brooder looks like but if the chicks are getting too hot and can't escape to a cooler spot, why don't you just raise the heat source and control the heat on the chicks that way.

 

[Shadrach]

Mine started to get going after a major improvement to the safety of the chicken run.

Around the beginning of quarantine, I also sold a pair of geese plus a drake and a couple of ducks. (because of the noise and not having a pond). Drake would sometimes chase the chickens around.

Although the first hen was brooding at the time the waterfowl were still present, their removal seemed to put the other hens in a more relaxed mode.

The factors I can identify in my multiple-broody situation are:

1. Better run security. Dogs can't enter the run anymore. As of November 2019.
2. Breed. Two new Game hens present among barnyard mixes starting in February
3. Rooster. Well, a rooster has been mostly always present.
4. Girly jealousy. Sight and sound of other hen's chicks makes the hens want to hatch their own!
5. Stress Reduction from removing constantly quacking ducks.
6. Missing picking up eggs, especially in old out-of-the-way nest boxes
7. Climate. Never gets really cold here.

Good point which I didn't include. Nest site security.

 

[Ruthster55]

This was spendy, but growing the flock and being able to watch Chick TV during quarantine has made it worth it!

Any nest site in there is secure against most anything other than myself (wanting breakfast) or possums (wanting a late-night raw egg snack).

I have been finally able to set some goals with the chickens where that was impossible before because of dogs (neighbors' but also ours) that entered the old flimsy fence and stole eggs, or, worse, sometimes killed chickens.
.

 

[Ginmary]

My 2 Silkies go broody at the drop of a hat. Often at the same time. My BO went broody once, not long after she started laying. She hatched 2 Serama chicks and never went broody again. My Ameraucana has never been broody.
My Serama hens are frequently broody.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Are Leghorns in the USA reputed to be non broody then?
It doesn't seem to be a problem in Italy. Maybe it's a cultural vibe type thing.

They are reputed to be. And to a large part, I think it is true.
That said, I grew up with a 100 layer hen flock of white leghorns and out of 100, we usually had 2 or 3 hens in broody jail in cages suspended from the roof of the hen house. I've only had black leghorns in recent years and one hen was frequently broody and she raised one or two clutches of chicks for me each year.
On a larger note, Mediterranean breeds are reputed to not be necessarily broody. I've had most of the Med breeds that are in the US. My Anconas, Minorcas and Buttercups never went broody (though the aforementioned Leghorns did). Another Med breed, the Penedesenca which I've raised exclusively in the Black variety for close to 10 years has been broody here. I think I've only had one year when none went broody. I currently have 3 Black Pene setters on a bunch of eggs.
I haven't kept Catalanas or White Faced Black Spanish.

 

[rehdancer]

OK, if a hen cannot be "induced" to go broody, which makes sense, if one wanted to hatch fertile eggs under a hen, how does one manage that? My little black bantam has been on the nest for 2 weeks with no sign of changing her mind. This is the 3rd time for this behavior and by far the longest. Doesn't seem there are so many options to get hatching eggs, but I'd love to be able to utilize her natural inclination if I understand how to time it all out.