What Kind of Hens Do Not Like to Sit on Eggs?

When hens go broody, they want to sit on their eggs and hatch chicks. That's three weeks with no egg production, with additional time post-hatching spent with chicks. Egg farmers don't want broody hens -- fertile eggs can easily be raised in incubators. Quite a few breeds raised primarily for egg production have had broodiness virtually bred out of them.

  1. Leghorn

    • No chicken produces more eggs per hen than the white leghorn, but no hen is less likely to go broody than this breed. An individual hen might lay as many as 300 eggs annually. Although leghorns appear in other colors, it's the white variety that dominate the world's commercial egg markets. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) notes that not only do leghorns boast a high rate of egg production, but the fertility level of their eggs is very high. That's true even though those eggs must be hatched in an incubator. They're a hardy, early maturing bird that "can be raised on almost any soil type," according to the ALBC.

    Common Non-Brooders

    • Although the leghorn is the most common laying breed, other types of chickens chiefly used for egg production often aren't broody. If you're putting together a backyard flock, that lack of broodiness might be a consideration, whether positive or negative. These include the Ancona, which the ALBC notes is very similar to the leghorn; the huge Jersey Giant; the robust Plymouth Rock; Rhode Island Reds; the speckled egg-laying Welsummer and the laced Wyandotte.

    Other Non-Broody Breeds

    • Many lesser-known breeds, more popular with backyard hobbyists than commercial egg operations, also fall into the primarily non-broody category. These include the Andalusian, a large and rare bird; the uncommon Sicilian buttercup; the quick-feathering campine; Catalana, a very common chicken in South America; Crevecoeur, a heritage breed; the exotic Egyptian Fayoumi; the slow-maturing Hamburg; the very rare Norwegian Jaerhon; the nervous La Fleche; the hardy Lakenvelder; the flighty Minorca; rare Russian Orloff; the crested Polish; the bantam rosecomb; the heat-tolerant Spanish; the laced Sebright and the white sultan.

    Broody Breeds

    • If you want to raise some backyard chicks from a non-broody breed but don't want to go the incubation and hand-raising route, put a few very broody types of hens into your flock. If you know that your non-broody hens' eggs are fertilized -- you've either candled them or seen your rooster mating with those hens -- stick a few into the clutch of a broody hen. She'll raise those youngsters along with her own. The broodiest breeds include the gentle Orpingtons, Araucanas, who lay blue or green eggs; the feathery Belgian D'Uccle; the docile Cochin; the short-legged Japanese; the cold hardy Java; Marans, which lay chocolate colored eggs; late-maturing Old English Game; fancy-feathered silkie and speckled Sussex.