All Things Broody
Getting lots of broody hen questions these days; the ladies must be trying to get one more round in before winter.
Is this a new term for you? A broody hen is a hen that sits in her nest all day and grumps at you when you catch her attention. She wants to hatch some chicks. Many people sneak chicks underneath her to speed the process along, as a hen that is broody for too long can become very ill, given that she doesn’t get up and move about and eat and drink properly.
We have successfully snuck chicks up to two-weeks old under a broody hen. Mama hen is happy and the chicks get a real live snuggly mama. And we don’t have to clean the brooder. Everyone wins!
You can read all our tips about how to do this at How to Sneak Chicks Under a Broody Hen (don’t overlook the post on Beaver Bum Secretions, aka Imitation Vanilla).
Here are some tips about how we Keep our Broody and her Babies with the Flock, though it is easier to see than just read about:
And of course, we have chicks ready for you. Click here to see the current selection of Chicks Available at Flower Feather Farm.
a Flower Feather Farm flock
So fluffy! So gorgeous! Jubilee Orpingtons are gentle winter-hardy birds and faithful layers of brown eggs. Their extreme fluffiness and brown/gold feathering makes them excellent yard-art as they look like a pile of autumn leaves trundling about.
Introduced in 1897 by the WIlliam Cook family to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria’s reign, Jubilee Orpingtons have a mahogany ground color with white-tipped black spangles, white shanks and feet, and red eyes.
The parent flock is one of my healthiest, frequently giving me 100% fertility rates and 100% hatch rates.
Updated 3/30/26: If you are purchasing these for a breeding program, be aware that I have recessive genes for feathered legs in my flock. Jubilee Orpingtons were created using feathered-leg Croad Langshans and occasionally that feathered-leg characteristic pops up again. So, not ideal if you are seeking to establish a breeding flock and certainly a characteristic I will be culling hard for.
These culled chicks are half off — they will be good layers and pets, they just don’t have a place in the breeding pen.
I occasionally have some a little older available, three weeks or more, and you will find them listed as Started.