Top 5 broody hens and care tips

On this week's post, we will talk about Broody Hens.

Some breeds that have a tendency to be broody more often. Here we will discuss the top 5, how to help them and what to do.

Top 5 broody breeds

Each country has its own top 5 of Broody hens (derived from the atmospheric conditions and the breeds themselves). I will indicate my personal top 5.

 

Let's start with the number 5 - Brahmas

 

Brahmas are a cold and heat hardy breed known for being decent layers. These hens frequently go broody and make fantastic mothers. Their personalities are darling, calm, and even-tempered.

Their even tempers make them great if you have children running around, and that same personality is why they constantly make the list of the top broody chicken breeds.

One thing to consider is that Brahmas have feathered legs and shanks. So, you might not want to keep them in excessively wet or muddy regions. Moisture can stick to these feathers, causing frostbite on their toes.

Despite their size, Brahmas handle confinement well and are less active than other breeds that want to forage all day. So, they work for those who can’t free-range their chickens.

Number 4 - Sussex

Sussex are cold hardy chickens that steadily lay eggs and go broody often. Plus, they make wonderful mother.

If you want a hen that does well laying a good amount of eggs, raises her chicks well and with meat proposes Sussex might be of your taste.

Number 3 - Orpington

 

Buff Orpingtons are excellent mothers, docile, and great for backyard chicken owners with small space. If you’re a new chicken owner, Orpingtons are one breed you need to try. They’re cold hardy, decent layers, and frequently go broody.

Orpingtons are a dual-purpose breed, so they make decent egg-layers, meat birds, and raise chicks as well.

 

 Number 2 - Cochin

 

Another cold hardy breed is called Cochins, but they aren’t known for being great egg producers. They’re better as broody hens and mothers than laying you a whole bunch of eggs! I put these as a pick for the best overall broody hen breeds.

Cochins are a Chinese breed of chickens with really fluffy butts, and all of those feathers and fluff make them one of the best broody chickens. Staying warm under all those isn’t a problem.

They’re known for being docile, so if you have kids, Cochins are a safe choice and come in a variety of colours and feather patterns, including Frizzled.

Number 1 - Silkie

 

Silkies are very popular right now. They’re a docile breed, making them a favorite for chicken owners with kids. Everyone loves how adorable these chickens are! They’re excellent pets.

They’re more likely to go broody than most other breeds. Silkies are one of the overall best choices for a broody hen. Some chicken owners call Silkies the Broody Queens because they’re one of the most consistent broody chicken breeds, special after 2 years old.

When these hens get chicks, they will fight any threat to make sure their chicks are safe. They even  care for their "chicks" when these have not needed care for years.

How to help broody hens

First of all getting broody doesn't mean hen is sick, it's simply an hormonal issue. In these cases you are the one who decides what to do. You either leave it to be Broody or you have to "break her".

We will start with the easiest. 

If you want the hen to be broody just try to separate it from the rest of the flock and put eggs under it. I personally put my broody silkies in a brooder and put eggs in the incubator. On the 18th day (the day when the rotation of the eggs should end), I put the good eggs under the hen. 

When the chicks hatch I have to stay close to make sure the hen accepts them.

My broody hen hatched 8 eggs. In this photo, you can already see 3. Other 5 chicks hatched later that day (2022 photo)

If you want to break the Hen, here are a few tips. Remember that, what works for me may or may not work for you).

There are several things you can do to calm her down and reduce her broodiness. The first thing to do is to remove her from the nesting box and collect her eggs regularly. This can sometimes be hard to do if she particularly doesn’t want to move. You may have to do this several times as she may try to go back into the nest box as soon as you remove her. 

Another way is to try placing a clutch of ice cubes into the nest box so that when she tries to go back in, she will find it unpleasant to sit on and it will also reduce her temperature. When hens are broody, it makes their body temperature rise, so, reducing her temperature, will reduce her broodiness. 

If after all that your hen is still broody, you can remove her from the coop completely and place her in a cage with a wire bottom to it. This can be a large dog or cat carrier with chicken wire on the bottom of it, and room to move about in. Make sure to place food and water in the cage as well, but no bedding. 

The wire cage is uncomfortable for her and will hopefully cool down her chest and vent area to reduce her broodiness like the ice cubes. Three days is usually enough time but it does depend on the hen. You will know when your hen is no longer broody when she no longer fluffs her feathers out and she won’t hurry to the nest.

If she does keep returning to the nest box the next thing to do is to block off the nest box that she has been using. One way to do this is to pail in a piece of wood to the entrance (if you have a wooden hen house).

 

With love, from our team, 

FL Poultry

 

Colour eggs and their respective breeds

 

Chickens that Lay Blue Eggs

1. Araucanas

 

These are very special chickens. They lay only blue eggs and look kind of funny because they have no tail feathers.
Otherwise, this is known as ‘rumpless.’
So this is how you can know someone has a true Araucana. Lots of people try to sell birds as Araucanas, but not all of them are so. Those two factors will help you distinguish the real breed from others.

2. Ameraucanas

 

Ameraucanas was bred from the Araucana. Because of this, they are able to produce blue eggs.
They are curious birds and a well-rounded breed, able to adapt to many climates.

3. Easter Eggers

 

These are kind of like a mutt version of Araucanas and Ameraucanas. They have many different breeds mixed into one bird.But they have some of the Araucanas and Ameraucanas in there because they are able to produce a variety of different colored eggs.Actually, this particular breed will produce egg colors such as blue, green, brown, sage, olive, cream, and rose.Plus, they have great temperaments, are heat and cold hearty, lay well in the winter, and very smart too. They’d make a great pet or addition to any hen house. 

4. Cream Legbar

 

This is another chicken breed that will lay blue eggs. It is a cross between the Araucanas, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and Golden Leghorns.
Beyond their beautifully colored eggs, a lot of people love these birds because they are very active without being skittish or flighty.
But they are also tremendous foragers. This is great news for their owners because the more they forage, the less food you have to pay for out of pocket.

Cream Egg Layers

Some people prefer cream-colored eggs. If so, then you’ll be interested in the following breeds:

1. Faverolle

This particular chicken breed is one that is very different to look at. They have feathered feet and five toes which obviously makes them stand out.
So if you are looking for a unique chicken breed that will give you beautifully cream-colored eggs, then you may be interested in this particular breed.

2. Dorking

Their breed name is rather funny at first glance, but they are actually a very special breed. This is one of the oldest breeds of chickens.
Actually, it is believed that they were one of the first to be domesticated way back during the Roman Empire.
But they are known for having very sweet personalities. Though they look a little different with short legs and five toes.

Green Egg Layers

Have you ever wanted a green egg that wasn’t rotten? Well, then you’ll be interested in this one chicken breed that specifically lays green eggs:

1. Olive Eggers

These chickens are a cross breed, similar to Easter Eggers. They all have varied patterns to them, but they produce eggs that are anywhere from olive-colored to a camo green.
So needless to say, they would be a neat addition to any backyard flock.

 

Brown Egg Layers

Brown egg layers are some of the most common. There is a variety of breeds that produce them:

1. Rhode Island Red

Rhode Island Reds are amazing layers. Most of them lay anywhere from 1-2 eggs per day depending on the time of year.
But they have a difficult temperament as some can be quite moody.

2. Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rock is another common bird. They are good layers and have a better temperament than most Rhode Island Reds.

3. Dominique

They are very docile birds, lay regularly, and are a beautiful color pattern filled with grays, blacks, and whites.
Obviously, they would be a great choice to add to any backyard chicken flock. But especially someone who is just starting out.

4. Jersey Giant

These are large birds with a pretty good temperament, in my experience. They are good layers and also serve as a dual purpose bird.
Because of their size, they are a good choice for a meat bird as well.

Other breeds that lay brown eggs are:

·         Golden Comets / isa brown

·         Cochin

·         Brahma

·         Chantecler

·         Java

·         New Hampshire Red

·         Buckeye

·         Delaware

White Egg Layers

If you are accustomed to white eggs because of grocery stores, then you can still have that though you are raising your own. Here are the breeds that produce white eggs:

1. Silkie

They have feathered legs, big feathered heads, and look like a ‘fancy’ chicken.
But on top of that, they lay white eggs which a lot of people like.

2. Polish

Polish chickens are other really unique chickens as well. They have these big puffed up feathered heads. To say they look ‘fancy’ or prepared for cold weather would probably fit them quite well.
But either way, they produce beautiful white eggs and would definitely draw a lot of attention to your flock.

3. Campine

This is a chicken that originated in Belgium. They have a beautiful orange color running through them and do produce white eggs.
However, they are not great layers. On average, they produce around 150 eggs per year. That is basically an egg every 2-3 days.

4. Leghorns

Leghorns are great layers. They produce white eggs which a lot of people really want in their backyard flock.
But Leghorn chickens are rather flighty. So if you are just starting out with raising chickens, keep this in mind.

 

Light Tan Layers

If you like brown eggs but maybe would prefer an egg a little lighter, then you’ll want to check out these chicken breeds for sure:

·         Buff Orpington

·         Wyandotte

Though their color schemes are different, they do produce around the same amount of eggs per year. They average around 150-200 eggs per year and both produce medium-sized eggs.

So basically you’ll need to choose whether you’d prefer to have a chicken with darker feathers (Wyandotte) or one with lighter colors (Buff Orpington.)

 

Pink Egg Layers

Pink eggs are something that you don’t see a lot of, and they look really cool. So if you’d like to have that color in your flock, then you’ll need to check out these breeds:

1. Barred Rock

Barred Rock chickens look very similar to Dominiques. They are utilized as both a meat bird and one that lays.
However, they are not strong layers since they average about 280 eggs per year. But the upside to that is that they can produce pink eggs.

 

2. Light Sussex

This is another beautiful breed of chicken. They basically resemble exactly what you think of when someone says the word ‘chicken.’
But they are great chickens to have around as they are a more docile breed and are also very alert to their surroundings.
However, they only produce on average about 250 eggs per year.

 

3. Asil

This bird would not be one I would recommend to any backyard chicken keeper. They originated from India and Pakistan.
Also, they are known for their aggressive behavior and do not produce many eggs. On average, it is said, that they only produce around 40 eggs per year.
So basically people keep them around more as a yard ornament and less for production or pet.

 

Chocolate Layers

Have you ever seen eggs that were a really deep, dark brown? If so, then you’ve probably encountered an egg from one of the breeds mentioned below.

However, you need to know that chicken eggs are rated on a scale from 1 to 9. 1 is white while 9 is a dark, rich brown.

Most of the following chicken breeds average around a 4 or greater. That is the trademark to know that you have the actual breed.

1. Pendescena

These chickens lay really rich colored eggs. They are a brown and almost red color at times.
However, this breed is a very alert breed which makes them a little more skittish. So they may not make the best pets in the average backyard flock.

 

2. Welsummer

This would be a great choice for most backyard flocks. This breed lays dark, chocolate eggs that are speckled as well.
But they also have very sweet temperaments, are smart, hearty in both heat and cold, and are great foragers too.

 

3. Marans

Marans are a more common breed and are pretty well known for their dark, chocolate colored eggs.
However, you should really look at the color of the egg to be sure that you have a true Marans. They are another breed that people try to pass off and are not true Marans.
Remember, that their eggs must be a 4 or greater to be a true Marans.

 

 

Note: a few imagens are taken from google. 

 

 

With love, from out team, 

FL Poultry