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
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