# best breeds for broody hens



## linda in se ny

I'd like to hear people experiences on the best breeds for broody hens. I haven't had a broody in 15 years. The ones I had were some kind of bantam cross. I've ordered quite a few breeds since but no luck. Thanks.


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## wofarm

Thats easy,Silkie with games 2nd.


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## Pat

I agree with wofarm.

I have a 7 month old Silkie hen setting now... (actually started last Wednesday)... Friday morning was 4, Saturday morning was 7.... this morning was 19. She's got too many eggs (so you can see eggs 360 degrees around her)

I bought Silkies last spring because they go broody (some can raise 3 cluches a year)... and they are nice eye candy too! (but can't do well free ranging!)

Pat


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## Humburger

In my limited experience, the Old English Game Bantam is SEVERELY broody! I would say that more than half their life is spent trying to hatch eggs and raise babies. That is why I have them.  Although I have had a Buff Orpington go broody. Now, she was NASTY when she was broody. But, the OEGB's, when they are broody, are very docile and never get nasty in any way. Today, I just went out there, picked her up off the nest, and cleaned out the nest underneath her. She just sang her little clucking song and was very relaxed. When I set her back down, she just looked around and settled in again.


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## Wisconsin Ann

Silkies, hands down. They can't cover much, but they sure do it often  One of mine tried to hatch out the hump in the middle of the feeder . My second best was the Cochins. Couldn't keep them laying enough to get MORE cochins. 

I've never had OEGames, but the tales about them going broody are everywhere.

I did find that once ONE hen went broody in the coop...the others often would. Even one of the leghorn types sat on eggs until I stopped her.


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## roolover

My Cochins go broody pretty regularly in the Spring and Fall, and are very good mamas. They are big and fluffy and can hatch lots of babies.

A few silly broodies: I once had a Brahma that was quite the broody girl. She sat on eggs for 3 months and I couldn't figure out why they never hatched. Then I discovered she had been eating them, and getting off the nest so the other hens would lay some more. Then there was the EE hen who was so determined to hatch some babies that she hid a large clutch of eggs in the loft of the coop during a very, very hot spell in August. I was amazed those eggs didn't fry up there. By the time we found the clutch, they were ready to hatch. We did get some nice EEs out of that bunch, though.


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## shanzone2001

You will get several responses with different preferences, but here is mine...the best broody hen I have ever had was a Jersey Giant. She was an excellent mom, too.
Good luck!


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## KSALguy

game of just about any kind, alot of bantam breeds, silkies are good, Bramas are good, cochins although the bantam variety does a better job cause they dont crush any of the babies that hatch, large cochins can sometimes crush the babies, 

i have game hens and game mix in my coop that keep shelling out batches of chicks wouldnt trade them for the world lol


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## LFRJ

Ozwilla is our girl! A run-of-the-mill blue wyndotte (like her sister who remains a spinster), we consider her our most valuable bird. This gal went broody 3 times last Spring/Summer/Fall - though we had to provide her chicks the first go round due to a tragedy not of her making. She's a great mother too, and of the wide variety of breeds we have, she's the only one who's ever. Not sayin Wyndottes are known for broodiness, just that it's funny how some get the gene and some don't. 

This winter we adopted a couple of banty cochins who needed a home, so we could have a bit of a contest this spring, but my money is on our tried and true blue!


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## swamp_deb

I've had better luck with bantam cochins being broody and good moms. I had one EE mix that would set, hatch then not want to raise the chicks past a couple of weeks old.

The silkies I had were NUTS, set just long enough to ruin eggs then not know where they were setting so started all over on another nest. Finally hatched a clutch and didn't know what to do with them. I don't think my experience is normal but it broke me from silkies, I'll stick with cochin bantams.


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## Natalie Rose

I have around 12 different breeds of chickens and still have never had one go broody.
I do hear though as someone said the silkies are great for that and I know people who use their silkies as incubators, they save all their fertile eggs for their silkies to hatch.
I had a pair of silkies and whenever I hatched eggs in an incubator I would put the chicks in to brood with the silkies and they raised them up each time.
The daddy was super protective of them and would chase my big orpingtons off if they got too close to the babies.
I have heard that male silkies will even sit on eggs if need be.


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## shellrow

Our Easter Egger hatched 7 biddies this summer. We have another EE trying to go broody right now. I am hoping she is successful.


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## columbiasc

I go with bantam cochins, we have to dip them some times to break them out of it. the girls will set on any eggs they find. we have silkies but no nesting box in that coop for them to set in.


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## ajaxlucy

Can you keep silkies in together with large breed hens?


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## columbiasc

ajaxlucy said:


> Can you keep silkies in together with large breed hens?


silkie hens that I have had are the bottom of the tottem pole,,they get beat down prison style!


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## Cheribelle

One of my blue-laced red Wyandottes hatched 19 chicks this year! And raised up 14 to adulthood! I was very impressed with her mothering skills.


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## Willowynd

Cochins and silkies. Standard Cochins can fit many more eggs under them though


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## hillbillly

a few of our gold-laced wyandottes get broody-
have one sitting right now.


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## Sanza

I've had ameraucanas and cornish Xs go broody but I think the best is silkies. This is my first year with silkies and what I've done is move the broody to a private pen. It's day 12 and I just candled her eggs and when I went to put them back she was back sitting on the empty nest.


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## KSALguy

yes silkies can be kept with normal birds, they do just fine,


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## cjb

Does anyone have silkies in a reasonably wet environment? I have been told that silkies don't do well in Oregon because they can't stand the rain. Given their fluff, I could see there being merit to that.

Too bad - I love how they look and the broodiness would be nice.


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## KSALguy

it rains ALOT in alabama, i have three silkie roosters and three silkie hens out in the coop with everyone else, its muddy when it rains and the white birds look a hot mess but they do just fine, 

we had them in kansas too and the snow never botherd them a bit eather


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## linda in se ny

Thanks for all the input. I've had mostly heavy breed chickens in the recent past and no luck I always thought silkies were too tender and diddn't want to bother but I may order a mix of bantams and try them out. When I had a passle of broody mix-breed bantams (about 15 yrs ago now) I didn't appreciate them. They'd lay their eggs all over the barn and had their chicks foraging in all the gardens. They'd all roost in my lamb creep and poop in the feeders. Didn't know how much I'd miss them--no heat lamps etc.


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## dsarchette

My neighbor has buff cochins, both batam and standard. I have a few red cochin batam crosses with red star. We have had cochin or cochin crosses being broody all winter. He has 3 now broody, and 2 sitting on eggs. I have one sittng on eggs now, and one coming broody. We have had around 12 or so, cochin or cochin crosses over the winter become broody. So my money would be on, and my fertil eggs under, the cochins, or cochin crosses. He only has 6 buff batam cochins pullets with a roo, and one buff standard cochin pullet with a roo. I only have 4 red cochin batam-red star crosses pullets and several different kinds of young roos. I also have around 45 pullets of other breeds that are fresh layers this winter, but all the broody activity has all came from the cochin or cochin crosses. Several of these pullets have become broody more than once this winter. So yes i would say cochin or cochin crosses.


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## Hill Family Homestead

how are Silkies


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## Hill Family Homestead

Humburger said:


> In my limited experience, the Old English Game Bantam is SEVERELY broody! I would say that more than half their life is spent trying to hatch eggs and raise babies. That is why I have them.  Although I have had a Buff Orpington go broody. Now, she was NASTY when she was broody. But, the OEGB's, when they are broody, are very docile and never get nasty in any way. Today, I just went out there, picked her up off the nest, and cleaned out the nest underneath her. She just sang her little clucking song and was very relaxed. When I set her back down, she just looked around and settled in again.


what type of old english game bantam do you have?


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## Fire-Man

Nothing like the Old English game for hatching. I have had them set 5 times in one season---3 to 4 is the norm. They are very Good Mothers, Hatch all the other breeds eggs, even silky.


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## NEPA

A bit off topic, but worth noting that most big mail order breeders have chicks with broodiness bred out, regardless of breed. Don't expect pure bred birds from these companies. I've basically given up on broodiness in chickens. I just buy replacements every couple of years.

My ducks are a different story. I've never had to purchase replacement ducks. I can depend on half of them hatching chicks each year. I never tried putting chicken eggs under my ducks, but might be an interesting experiment.


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## barnbilder

Nothing will compare to a game. I free range mine. They don't tolerate hawks at all. Standard games will cover a big enough clutch of eggs to be worth while. When people say they have Old English games, they usually are talking about old english game bantams, an entirely different breed. Old English games are very rare, rarer than the fancy breed of the month that the pyramid scheme feather peddlers are pushing this week. The hatchery offerings of standard old english game are actually american games, with probably a little something else added to boost egg production.

Game chickens have traditionally been used for fighting. When you boost paternal traits, genetically, you boost maternal traits. That's why dairy bulls are highly unpredictable and territoriality aggressive. But while early breeders intensified territorial aggressiveness, because they had to intensively handle males, there was zero tolerance for aggression towards handlers. A game rooster, while having zero tolerance for any other adult male, is the most gentle bird you will ever be around. Or that your kids will ever be around. 

The females will hatch, brood, and defend chicks, and you can raise some of the healthiest chicks you could ever want. And they are predictable. They hit six months old, if it's not the middle of winter, they go broody. Reliably broody, where they stay broody long enough to hatch eggs and brood and protect chicks as long as they need it. Not one out of a dozen, all of them. Multiple times a year.


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## mamahen

My buff Orpington hen hatched 3 broods last year. She hatched 12 each time, with only two Roos in each hatch


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## Mish

mamahen said:


> My buff Orpington hen hatched 3 broods last year. She hatched 12 each time, with only two Roos in each hatch


One of my two Buff Orpingtons constantly goes broody as well. We decided we might stuff some chicks under her if she goes early enough this year.


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