Why can a broody......

[Judy Todd]

Does anyone know how many chickens+ducks a 16'5"x16'5" pen can hold? I have 17 birds in it right now. Can it hold more?

Just do the math, sq feet, then 4 sq ft for lg breeds, 3 for med and less for small, also less if they free range all day.

 

[Judy Todd]

Yeah XD. I've had three broodies in my 8 years of chicken keeping. Two this summer.
My first was a Golden Comet. (Which was a HUGE surprise.)
Second was a Belgian Bearded D'anver.
Third was a bantam cochin.

I've also heard that Silkies are crazy broodies, as well as game birds.

I had a bantom cochin, who raised one day old hatchery chicks, she did this for 9 years and then quite laying and died that fall. What a gal!!

 

[Sonya9]

I have the opposite problem. My LF Cochin goes broody at the sight of a round object. If I don’t remove even one egg immediately, she’s broody. Empty pill bottle (please don’t ask)? Broody. Rock? Broody. Bantam legless rooster? Broody. She lives in my house, so she goes out to potty in the morning and then throws sticks at me. The difficult problem is getting her NOT to brood! Even when her house is empty.

Yeah that is not good especially for smaller flocks that only need 2-3 chicks a year. I much prefer a hen that goes broody once a year and raises her babies until they are a year old.

 

[Judy Todd]

Yeah I usually buy 2-3 feed store chicks when one of my bantams goes broody and the chicks are always so happy to be put under a real mama. It is like a huge relief for them and sleeping in the down of the hen has to be ultra comfy.

I agree with that, have been putting feed store 2 day old chicks under broodys for years, only one rejection, a little RIR, I told my broody she was color partial, all the rest were yellow. That is the only rejection I have experienced.

 

[Sonya9]

Does anyone know how many chickens+ducks a 16'5"x16'5" pen can hold? I have 17 birds in it right now. Can it hold more?

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.

 

[NatJ]

It also makes sense that hatcheries would not want broody butts in their flocks since broody=no eggs=less eggs for hatching=reduced profit.

It makes perfect sense. But a fair number of hatchery birds can go broody, too. I've had Partridge Chantecler, Old English Game Bantam, Easter Egger Bantam, Gold Brabanter, Red Shouldered White Yokohama (x2), Black Sumatra (x2), Cornish Bantam (x3), standard-sized Cornish (x2, different colors from different hatcheries), "Indian Red Jungle Fowl" (x2, but they were not really wild--acted like normal chickens)...

For the breeds I listed, I only had 1-4 of each breed. In each case, more than half of the females for that breed went broody.

I think rare breeds are more likely to go broody, because the hatcheries just don't breed as many and select as hard, when compared with the more common breeds. (Yes, they lay less eggs than some of the more common breeds--but that might be partly caused by the increased broodiness!)

 

[Fairy Godmother]

I’ve had a 4 year old BO go broody once when she saw some new chicks. My LF Cochin never has. My CONSTANT broodies are one of my Black Ameraucanas, one of my Black Copper Marans and my Naked Neck.

A nest full of eggs will trigger one of my girls as will a bunch of new chicks running around. I’ve noticed this several times. You can’t duplicate a bunch of new chicks running around, but you can duplicate a nest full of eggs by placing a bunch of fake eggs in one. I’ve also read that game hens are fierce and constant broodies, but game birds aren’t my thing.

Good luck, but be careful what you wish for. A broody hen = no eggs for 7-8 weeks (3 setting and 4-5 rearing). And the BCM broody of mine is the one that lays the darkest chocolate egg. Wish it could be one of my others.

I also had a Copper Maran that was in a constant state of BROODY! She was an awesome mama. We gave up on trying to break her and just bought fertilized eggs for her to hatch! She's gone now and I have an Ameraucanas how has started on that road. I don't really want any babies but will probably end up doing the same unless someone can tell me how to break her without the "Broody Breaker method"?

 

[NatJ]

unless someone can tell me how to break her without the "Broody Breaker method"?

A wire crate for a few days, with food & water and no nestbox can work well. You can also give her a roost, so she doesn't have to sit on the wire floor. (Roosting is fine, nesting is not, if you want her to quit being broody.)

Or moving her to any other pen will sometimes do it--some hens will sit on any nest, others will quit being broody when kept from the one perfect nest that they wanted to be in

Or put her out to range and close the coop. (Only works if outside is safe from predators.) She will either quit being broody, or choose a new nest (meaning, it might work, but might not.)

Any way you do it, she will probably spend at least a day or two pacing and fussing and trying to get back to her nest before she quits being broody. But it only takes a few days. And really, it's not too bad for her-- you would provide food and water and make sure she's safe.

 

[Pullet Press]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I'm in the process of purchasing some Black Copper Marans (not for the broodiness, but for the egg color. I have 2 choices for broody birds now), Speckled Sussex (not for broodiness) and Partridge Cochins! The feed store is supposed to call me when they get there (1-4 weeks). Has anyone had a PC that goes broody often? McMurray's description for the breed says they go broody easily. Is that true?

 

[mtnlady621]

I raised a new flock this year. They are now laying at 25 weeks old. I have a Black and a Partridge Cochin and they are both broody. I gave 1 egg to the black one and none for the partridge. I may have to do the separate cage thing for her. I also have 4, 3 week old chicks from my Whiting True Blue who went broody and hatched them out. She is a meticulous mama and I believe I lucked out with all hens. I have 2 roos 25 wks old too(not supposed to have had they were an accident from Murray McMurray. They get along, I believe that dad is the Columbiam Wyandotte. We shall see. But my point was that I have never had broody hens before this new flock! CRAZY!!!