Can't break a broody hen.

My hens are all wild so I understand. However, if they're dedicated broodies, you can quickly reach in the nest and grab them. Wearing gloves will make you less apprehensive.

ChickenCanoe said:

Methods other than the elevated cage with no bedding have marginal results at best. A warm bottom promotes the hormones for broodiness. Dunking the bottom will not keep the bottom cold enough long enough.
They do have to be in the cage 24/7 or the hormone cycle won't be broken. The dimensions aren't important. A broody hen sits tight so the cage only has to be large enough for her, a food and a water dish. Once she's up wanting to get out of the cage, she's likely done. I pull them out after 2 days. If they go back to the nest, back into the cage she goes.
In poor areas of SE Asia, Africa and Latin America where wire for a cage may not be available, they'll use sticks bound into the shape of a cage.


I've used ice on occasion but nothing works better than an elevated wire bottom cage. As I said, this method has worked for thousands of years.
Chicken keepers over the millennia understood why chickens wanted to raise a family and how to quash that desire. That kind of information passed down over generations of keepers has been interrupted by the bulk of the population moving to urban areas.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. We will set up a cage tomorrow and hope that it won't take too long. I feel sorry for her. She looks so sad when I check on her.

One of my 2 week old silkies that i was raising in a brooder has bonded with a mama hen (and her ~4 day old chick)...

Update: about 2 weeks after the Java finally stopped being broody, my other hen (an Orpington) went broody. While she was in the elevated broody pen, the Java went back to being broody. And the Orpington is still in the broody pen.
I give up. I'm giving them hatching eggs.

My orpington just stopped being broody finally, it took 6 nights in the broody cage and 7 days locked out of the coop and free ranging. ..
She's the leader so, the flock was in disarray while she was checked out. They are a tight gang of four again.
Can't wait until she starts laying again.

I've been meaning to update on my broody buff orpington. I did the elevated wire cage method as suggested. It took 4 days to break her. It's been quite warm even during the night in my area so I had to place a fan on her. I even went as far as to use a spray bottle of water on her underside. She seemed to thank me each time I sprayed her. On the 3rd day I thought she was broke so I let her out of the cage but after about an hour she was back in the nest box brooding away, so back in the broody jail she went. But the next day she was over it and has been fine since. I'm guessing, but I think it was about 6 days ago when she broke. She's my top hen and I thought a couple of my other hens had stopped laying while she was in jail but as it turns out I think they were all a bit confused and nervous about the cage and the fan. I found that they had been laying their eggs in the goat barn. They all seem back to normal now though. YAY!!!!

I don't know how to stop these hens from going broody. They adopted us last summer and had never seen a broody hen or really chickens before.. Then one hen started, gave up and gave her two eggs since her's didn't hatch. Now these hens are not tame so no way to use any of these suggestions. She had the chicks and then 2 more hens went broody. Was able to get one of her nest they both were sitting on fake eggs but the other no matter what we did she would make a nest. Felt bad so gave her a egg. Now I have another hen, the one we thought we stopped her is broody again! We always replace the eggs with fake ones after they lay and she's on one. I don't understand why they are doing it. There also is a rooster that adopted us with the group. My daughter (grrr) who hates chickens bought one and then didn't want her and so I took her and had to buy another chick to keep her company. So out of the 6 hens, 1 rooster, my 2 girls (l0 1/2 weeks old) and the other two chicks (9 weeks old) and include the hen with one chick (11 days old). I have too many chickens! Oh forgot, we had another hen go broody and laying on a fake egg, took the egg and removed her nest (it was on the ground) and then she took another nest that had a real egg on it. So once again I gave her another egg so there would be two chicks to grow up together, a little worried about the new chick that we only gave her one egg how it will work when mother kicks her out. Do hen's get the urge when the other hens have chicks? I also don't know what to do if some of these chicks end up being roosters.

Sitting on a fake egg will keep them brooding.
Elevated wire bottom cage or ice.
Extra roosters taste just like chicken.