Broody hens

Broodyness means your hen wants to set on eggs for the next 21 days, until they hatch. She wants to be a mother! She will take over one of your nest boxes and tuck in for the duration.

She settles herself down, fluffing out her feathers so that she can cover the maximum number of eggs. All broody hens think big when it comes to being a mother. She'll stay there all day and all night. If you approach her, she lets out a chirping yodel of alarm. She'll peck your hand if you reach under her.

Lady Fanny, a Speckled Sussex, loves to be a mother.

She'll probably get up once a day, to get a drink of water and take some light refreshment, and poop. Then she's back on the nest, whether there are any eggs in it or not. You can remove her from the nest, lock her out, dunk her in cold water, and she'll persist. Eventually, if she doesn't have any eggs to hatch, she'll get up and resume her usual place in the flock.

I like to get some fertile eggs and let my broody hens be mothers. It's a natural behavior and the hen clearly enjoys it. It seems difficult to us, but what do we know? One observer described broodiness as "a state of continual bliss." Writer Eva Le Gallienne described her impression of what's going on with hens in her 1949 novel, Flossie and Bossie. She imagines one practicing arpeggios.

The illustrations by Garth Williams capture their broody essence.

The eventual reward is the joy of motherhood.

Many chicken owners don't want broody hens, because they stop laying while they are brooding. Obviously, they can't be laying more eggs while they are incubating a clutch. Broodiness cuts down on egg production. So broodiness has been bred out of many breeds, which are then called non-sitters. Heritage breed flock owners usually value it. It's an instinctive behavior that allows hens to keep the flock going.

Hens, like other birds, look for some number of eggs that signals a clutch ready to be hatched. Usually, it’s eight to twelve eggs.  That’s the reason hens often take turns laying in a single nest. They are looking for that magic number.

One of the marvelous things about hatching eggs is that although an individual hen will lay one egg a day, she will keep on laying until she gets a clutch before beginning to incubate them. Then they all hatch together. This seemed like a miracle to me until I understood how they arrange it. When the hen is off the nest, the egg is too cool for the embryo inside to begin developing. The eggs patiently wait for her to settle on them and warm them up to about 100 degrees. Some hens pluck feathers off their breats, to get that warmth closer to the eggs.

The broody hen will turn the eggs several times a day. That prevents the embryo from sticking to the inside of the egg. 

All this is much easier for the hen to do for humans to replicate with an electric incubator and egg turner. Hens are best suited to incubating eggs.

Hens are good mothers

Happy Mother's Day! Chickens get broody when they start thinking about becoming mothers.When one of my five hens took it into her head to become broody a few weeks ago,I assumed she'd simply have to get over it.

I removed her from the nest and the golf ball she was setting on a couple of times, to loud squawking. And she promptly returned. In some sense, it was a good test. I knew she was serious about setting.

As it happened, I was chatting with a friend who has a hen who is often, even permanently broody. She's at the bottom of the pecking order and has had a rough time fitting  in. Apparently she found her niche in being broody. She's a pretty Blue Cochin, but not very assertive.

As we talked, we got the idea of putting some eggs under them. He located a farmer who had fertile hatching eggs for sale, and soon both our hens were setting on real eggs. She's got six eggs under her, three Coronation Sussex and three Welsummer. No problem telling them apart -- the Welsummer eggs are dark brown, with speckles. Beautiful.

Coronation Sussex are an unrecognized very rare variety. I've never seen one. The plumage pattern is similar to a Delaware, but instead of black the contrasting feathers are silver or lilac. The friend who picked up the eggs, told me the birds he saw were beautiful.

Welsummers are a modern composite egg breed. They were admitted to the APA Standard in 1991 in the Continental class.

This hen is a Speckled Sussex. Other good broody breeds include Ameraucana, Asil, Barnevelder, Brahma, Buckeye, Chantecler, Cochin, Cornish, Cubalaya, Delaware, Dominique, Dorking, Dutch, Faverolle, Holland, Japanese, Java, Jersey Giant, Kraienkoppe, Marans, Nankins, New Hampshire, Old English Games, Orloff, Orpington, Polish, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Silkies, Sussex, Welsummer, Wyandotte.

All games are usually good brooders. Madagascar Games, Malgache, are reported to be willing to adopt chicks from other broods and of different ages. Males sometimes brood chicks.

They vary by individuals and some lines are better brooders than others. Ask the breeder how broody his birds are.

Dual Purpose Chickens

Most historic breeds are considered dual purpose, meaning that they lay plenty of eggs and are also good on the table as meat. After all, that's what people were keeping them for. In the modern industrial age, breeds such as the Leghorn have been developed to lay eggs above all, and hybrid crosses to convert feed into meat. But an integrated farm needs birds that have more general utility.

This Kraienkoppe, for instance. It's a breed that isn't recognized by the American Poultry Association, www.amerpoultryassn.com, but has a long history along the Dutch-German border, being recognized in that area since the 19th century. Originally, breeders were seeking to develop an egg-laying breed. Those are code words for Not Broody. The issue with broodiness is that the hen stops laying eggs while she is broody. The up side of being broody is that she will hatch the next generation and perpetuate the flock.

Malay, Belgian Game chickens, Dutch landrace chickens and Leghorns went into the mix. The Kraienkoppe emerged as a definable breed by 1885, when it was first shown in Holland. Along the way, it became a good egg layer but never lost the broody characteristic. "This does mean that production, though good, can at times be uneven. We’ve taken to freezing excess eggs so we never lack during those times when the hens all want to be mommas," says George McLaughlin, an advocate for the breed. His young rooster is pictured above.

He finds they do well in cold weather, continuing to lay through the winter, and manage hot weather equally well. They are vigilant and will take to flight when startled. They are friendly,k but not cuddly. "Kraienkoppes become alarmed, when one so much as pauses to focus a camera on them," he says. "The Kraienkoppe is very rare yet a good practical bird for the small homestead."

This kind of useful, intelligent and resourceful bird carries a proud history of partnership with humans. Any farmer would be blessed by a flock of them.

Kraienkoppes

There aren’t many Kraienkoppes around, but they could suit some small flock owners. They are a good practical bird for the small homestead.
They lay plentiful medium to small, white or tinted, eggs. They are an exception to the rule that earlobe color reflects egg color, white earlobes indicating white eggs. Kraienkoppes should have red earlobes. The hens excel in broodiness. So production can be uneven.

Historically, Kraienkoeppe (German spelling) come from the German/Dutch border region, in the East Dutch province of Twente in Enschede, Ahaus, and county of Bentheim. That area remains the center for them. They were first shown in Holland in 1885. They were shown in Germany at the 1925 German Poultry Youth Show in Hannover. This illustration is from the Bilder Atlas des Geflugels, 1954, in the SPPA collection.

The Kraienkoppe was derived from the Pheasant Malay, an Oriental Game. The German Association of Breeders of Kraienkoeppe and Bantam Kraienkoeppe also credits Belgian Game, Dutch landraces, and Leghorns in their background.

The Kraienkoppe was recognizable as a breed in Europe in the early 1800s. Here in the USA the Kraienkoppe is not recognized by the APA. Kraienkoppes were recognized in the German Standard in 1926. That Standard specifies:

Breeding Goal: An early maturing laying hen with 180-200 eggs in the first year of lay, 150-160 in the second year; non-broody; very rich in tender white meat; minimum weight for hatching eggs is 58-60 grams; shell colour: white to tinted.

General Impression: A sleek, powerful type of country chicken, giving the impression of a game bird; especially in the head, and then carriage, and thighs; the tail that is set wide and carried ‘attached’; tight feathering, which gives them protection from moisture; feathers on both sides of the quill are narrow; a trusting but very lively temperament.

In the German Standard Roosters weigh about 5 ½ - 6 1/2 lbs., hens 4 ½ - 5 ½ lbs. American birds are much smaller, roosters 4 – 4 ½ lbs, hens 3 – 3 ½ lbs. Although the German standard specifies that Kraienkoppes are non-broody, all the American ones are broody and good mothers.

George McLaughlin in Oklahoma, who has lost his heart to his Kraienkoppes, is experimenting with a Buckeye cross to increase their size.

George observes: “They don’t feather pick at all. They are extremely vigilant regarding predators, especially from above. They are friendly, from arm’s length, yet scandalous and flighty. This is not a 'cuddly breed.' Kraienkoppes become alarmed when one so much as pauses to focus a camera on them.”

Additional attributes: “They handle high temperatures extremely well. They can and do fly. They have a high level of vitality and disease resistance. The roosters are not aggressive towards each other. Fertility and hatchability are excellent.”

They are excellent foragers, and eagerly consume all kinds of insects, but they disdain small animals that other breeds relish, such as mice and lizards.

Several breeders I talked to have given up their Kraienkoppes in the last year. Their independence proved troublesome to their breeders, who replaced them with more docile and friendly breeds. Since they are not recognized by the Standard, they are not a popular exhibition breed. They exert a strong hold on those whose hearts, like George’s, they capture. They need attention and would be an unusual breeding project. If that’s your goal, Kraienkoppes could be your next flock.

Beautiful chicken art prints

Rick Bennett of North Carolina generously sent these beautiful prints of water colors he has done of his chickens.

He has captured the serious glint in Lizzie's broody eye in Lizzie Goes Broody.














Lucky is a handsome rooster who has been an inspiration to Rick.


















The industriousness of hens at work, Waiting for Worms, shows how interested the girls can be in gardening.













The Bad Attitude Towards Authority -- is this Lucky, Rick, or is it you?


















Rick works and exhibits at the Carter Building -- Glenwood South in Raleigh.

"What attracts me to watercolor is less science and is maore like alchemy. There are surprises, mishaps, and sudden beauty. Vibrant and transparent color layers over color to create subtle shifts or stark contrasts. Sometimes I scrape out shapes with my pocket knife or push pigment with an old driver's license." Rick teaches Watercolor at Pullen Arts Center and is a member of the Board of Directors of Visual Art Exchange.

His art has exhibited at the Charlotte Mint Museum, Fayetteville Museum, Raleigh Fine Art Society Annual Exhibition, Visual Art Exchange, Flanders Art Gallery, won Best in Show for Technique at The 2008 Raleigh Street Paintung Festival and a featured artist in 2010.

Bantams make good mothers

Bantams are often known for their broodiness and willingness to be good mothers. Chickens need to be instinctually driven to set for the 21 days required to hatch eggs. Not all chickens retain this natural drive. Chickens stop laying eggs when they become broody, so breeders who are focused on egg production select hens who don’t get broody for their flocks. Over time, many breeds, especially large fowl, have lost the ability to brood their own eggs. Bantam hens are often willing to hatch any eggs placed under them.

"My Nankin hens will try to hatch a rock," said Mary Anne Harley of the Nankin Club.

This quality became part of the plot in a book, Flossie and Bossie, published in 1949. “As a hazel-nut is to a walnut, a Brussels sprout to a cabbage, an Austin to a Cadillac – so is a Bantam to a regular chicken,” Eva Le Gallienne wrote in her novel about two bantam hens in a barnyard. Ms. LeGallienne drew on her observations of her own bantams to write the book. It’s now out of print, but your local library may be able to locate a copy for you.

Dominiques

Dominiques are considered the first American breed. Their French-sounding name hasn’t always caught on with those who are otherwise devoted to them. Your grandmother may have called them her Dominikers. Historically, the name may be traceable to chickens, probably old French Cuckoos imported from Dominica. They may have provided the name but only a small part of the Dominique’s genetic background.

Dominiques are the rock solid dual purpose bird, comfortable as roasters or fryers at 7 lbs. for mature cocks and 5 lbs. for mature hens, and steady, reliable layers. They lay brown eggs.

Their slate-barred feathers are the color pattern known in other breeds as cuckoo. That color pattern may have provided protective camouflage for them when they found their own living by foraging in the barnyard. Dominiques are still good foragers.

Although their origins are clouded in history, the International Correspondence Schools Reference Library on Standard-Bred Poultry (1912) says they were plentiful in the United States by 1820 and were documented on Ohio farms by 1850. ICS cites Rose Comb White Dorkings and Black Javas as being among their forebears. Other 19th century writers, such as Lewis Wright in The Illustrated Book of Poultry (1880), credit the Rose-comb Cuckoo Dorking and the Scotch Grey, with the comb of a Hamburg. Harrison Weir in The Poultry Book (1912) cites the Dorking influence, but notes that Dominiques have only four toes and yellow, rather than white, shanks. He quotes T.F. McGrew’s opinion that Hamburgs had substantial influence.

SPPA president Craig Russell credits Cuckoo Dorkings and Hamburgs with giving rise to the Dominiques, with the yellow skin and legs coming from Javas in the 19th century.

Their barred feathers are similar in color to Barred Rocks. The black/slate varies in shade, and the barring is irregular. The males have longer sickle feathers. Their bright yellow legs stand out. Getting the rose comb perfect is a challenge to breeders. It may lack the required spikes or the spikes may be misshapen. Tail angle in both males and females can be difficult to perfect. Dominique tails should stand at a jaunty 45-degree angle. This flock of Dominiques belongs to Bryan Oliver, SPPA member who is also secretary of the Dominique Club of America, http://www.dominiquechickens.org/, who took the photo.

Kansas breeder and SPPA vice president Monte Bowen says, “The Dominicker is a bird that lays very well. I can depend upon eggs from those girls when nothing else on the place is laying. They lay well all through the winter, and will go broody sooner than the other breeds. I encourage broodiness in the birds and let them set when and where they want. I find I can move a broody hen to a quieter spot with no trouble. They will stay on a nest and do a marvelous job of raising their young. They are calm, gentle setters and are not hazardous to the health of the keeper. They squawk and ruffle up when I check the nest, but never peck. Once the chicks arrive, they become a bit more territorial, but I also encourage that in the birds. A hen that won’t protect her clutch is not worth too much.”

Iowa Blues

Thanks to Curt Burroughs for his work on Iowa Blues and this blog post:

Iowa Blues combine the hardy characteristics of their state with unusual plumage colors. Although much historical documentation has been lost, they have survived as a breed and their cause is now being championed by a breed club. Although the breed was never recognized by the American Poultry Association, contemporary breeders are determined to change that and bring two varieties into the Standard.

John Logston of Decorah, Iowa, developed Iowa Blues as his own breed of chicken in the 1920s. An ambitious livestock breeder, he also developed the White Collie and raised the largest herd of Dexter cattle in the country. Local oral histories credit a Black Minorca hen, for larger eggs, and a Rhode Island Red hen, chosen because the breed is the leader among its type, with mating with a pheasant to create the breed. Another tale attributed to Dolly, John Logston’s wife, says the original Iowa Blues were chicks that one of her White Rock hens led out from under the shed where she’d hatched them. These pheasant-colored chicks joined the myth of being sired by a pheasant.

The result was a farm breed that flourished in extremes of temperature and humidity, able to defend itself and forage for food, reproduced well naturally, laid plenty of eggs and was big enough to make a good table bird. They were popular from the 1920s through the 1950s, when they lost ground to the industrial farms that began to dominate poultry production.

          

                                                                  

Photo by Kari McKay-Widdel

        

That unlikely start produced chicks that are active and intrepid, ‘popping’ to evade handling within hours of hatching. They crouch and hop, straight up or sideways, to avoid being caught. At a few weeks of age, they lose the ‘popping’ to crouching and active fleeing, much like the pheasant chicks to which they are, if not genetically, related in appearance.

Iowa Blues are active foragers who will fend for themselves, given adequate pasture. They are defiant survivors, innately aware of their surroundings, especially aerially, and willing to fight off predators. They have confidence that they can handle any threat that comes their way. Owners often observe Iowa Blue roosters engaged in battle with a hawk or chasing a raccoon off the property. They stand out in the open when other chickens flee for cover and proudly strut as if to dare the predator to take them on, even engage the threat with fierce combat. They also eliminate pests such as mice, rats and snakes. They wound them by jabbing them with their beaks, then grasp it and shake it vigorously.

Hens retain a strong broody instinct, and sister hens may follow the leader in taking to the broody nest together. Although this reduces egg production, current breeders are divided among those who are breeding to increase egg production and those who wish to retain broodiness.

Photos by Curt Burroughs

Iowa Blues are not recognized by the American Poultry Association, but dedicated breeders could change that. The Silver Penciled variety could be proposed under the current APA standard description, with its less defined markings, which give it a bluish rather than greenish sheen, noted as a variation. Birchen Iowa Blues have more white than the APA standard description, so some accommodation in that description would be appropriate.

Glenn Drowns of Sandhill Preservation Center in Calamus, Iowa, has a documented Silver Penciled flock from which he sells stock. Based on Silver Penciled Rock birds he bred to Campine-Fayoumi crosses, then bred back to a Black Leghorn, Ideal Hatchery in Texas developed a birchen variety. Ideal began selling these birds as Iowa Blues in the 1990s. That crossing also introduced red and gold markings, marring the preferred silver coloring.

Chick down color varies depending on the color variety. On the Silver Penciled chicks, a soft chocolate brown down color combined with light mottling on the face, is the most common. The down has a very unique look to it, almost like a silvery under color to the chocolate down, and gives the chick a very dimensional appearance. On the Birchen colored chicks, one will find a mostly black chick with various amounts of white on the belly, chin, and sometimes the face.

The Iowa Blue Chicken Club was founded in 2012 to resolve these questions and pursue APA recognition. The Silver Penciled variety is the group’s first priority, to be followed by the Birchen variety after breed recognition. Their Standard Committee has developed a breed description, including size: Rooster – 7lbs; Cockerel – 6lbs; Hen – 6lbs; Pullet – 5lbs. Iowa Blue type is unique. When viewed from the side, the overall body shape should be rectangular, similar to the Rhode Island Red. A full and deep breast is ideal and the breed is set well on the legs. The back should be wide and level. The head is upright and the tail is set at a jaunty 80 degrees. An Iowa Blue tail is quite distinct, putting a “stamp” on all crossbred offspring. Tail set is neither overly full nor elegantly flowing.

The Silver Penciled birds are subject to laryngotracheitis, possibly due to inbreeding. Immunization is effective and recommended for all flocks, until this weakness can be overcome with selective breeding. Breeders hope all flocks will be naturally immune in the future.

With the rise in popularity of homesteading families, and individuals interested in local homegrown foods, the time is ripe for the Iowa Blue to propel itself into the future. What are needed, are dedicated breeders, willing to put forth the necessary labor of producing outstanding examples of the breed and one day producing the desired effects needed to place the Iowa Blue into the Standard of Perfection.

Photo by Kari McKay Widdel

Anyone interested in becoming involved with the rescue, breeding, and promotion of the Iowa Blue, should contact the Iowa Blue Chicken Club, http://www.iowabluechickenclub.com/, for more details and to connect to breeders in their location.

Spring chicks!

I vowed I wouldn't do it again -- hatch eggs or raise chicks in the kitchen. I didn't mind getting the two-month-old pullets last spring. They were pretty much self-sufficient already, fully feathered and ready to go.

But here I was last month, setting up the incubator on thee kitchen counter. It's the best place because it's protected but well heated, not too much variation in the ambient temperature. Close to a water source, to keep the humidity channels full. The eggs arrived the next day, so it was well warmed and ready for them.

It started a week or so before, when Lady Fanny, my Speckled Sussex, indicated an interest in being broody. She's my best broody hen and has hatched chicks the past three years. I was alert to the possibility that she would want to set some eggs again, and I wanted to get her some nice ones. I've decided to add two or three pullets to my flock every year, to keep egg production up. If Fanny wants to hatch them, I'm happy to help her.

Lady Fanny with a turkey chick in 2013

That afternoon I heard loud squawking, and after ten minutes or so of it, went out to check to see if some predator might have made its way into the coop. No, it was Fanny, settled in the favorite nest box and loudly berating her sisters about their attempts to join her to lay their eggs. This is it, I thought. She's getting ready.

I put a notice on Facebook and my friend Kermit Blackwood stepped right up. He had some nice Colloncas he'd be happy to share. He collected eggs for a couple of days and shipped them off.

In the meantime, Fanny changed her mind. That one day was the sole indication that she wanted to raise a brood this year. I knew the eggs were on their way, so I unpacked the incubator and get ready.

The eggs arrived, perfectly packed, three lovely blue eggs and five small white ones. I let them rest a day before putting them in the incubator. It helps them get organized after being jostled through the delivery system.

We were in the midst of the only storms California has had all winter, which is good, but the weather was violent. I feared for a power outage, but the eggs were here, no turning back. I figured I'd think of something if the power went out. Maybe the library would let me plug in for a few hours in an emergency.

That never happened. The incubation was uneventful. The first chick, a black one from one of the white eggs, was followed by a white one from one of the blue eggs on March 21. By the next day, three of the white eggs had hatched: one all black, one black with a touch of white, one black with a white chest and underside.