How to Break a Broody Hen

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One of my BSL's is not "paying" her way ,she is the same one who goes broody every 3 weeks or so. She hasn't laid an egg in 10 days. When she goes broody I isolate her in the chicken tractor that I built,

and after 3 days she is back to "normal" It is quite hot here in Fl. (90's every day) does the heat affect the egg laying in other fellow Floridian's flock? This is the tractor/isolation room for broody chickens.

 
Flachickman said:
One of my BSL's is not "paying" her way ,she is the same one who goes broody every 3 weeks or so. She hasn't laid an egg in 10 days. When she goes broody I isolate her in the chicken tractor that I built,

and after 3 days she is back to "normal" It is quite hot here in Fl. (90's every day) does the heat affect the egg laying in other fellow Floridian's flock? This is the tractor/isolation room for broody chickens.

Click to expand...

I read the heat makes it more difficult to break a broody hen. Ventilation is important. When its hot where I live I don't have as many eggs. Like the tractor!
 
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Thank you everyone for your suggestions for my broody with the bad leg. Since a wire-bottomed crate is not feasible with her, I did try the plastic dog crate. She loved it. Loved it so much it became her new 'nest' that she'd run to. Not exactly breaking her of the idea of brooding, but I'm sure it works great for other hens.

So, she and I have hatched a plan (yes, I crack myself up). While she's broody, I will serve as her 4x/day slave. Part physical therapist (getting the bad leg moving), part personal assistant (I take her off the nest and deliver her to the food/water), and part jail warden (locking her out of the nestbox).

It's highly inconvenient for me, but I don't want her to suffer in this heat, and especially with her disability, so I'm happy to do it. Thank HEAVENS I only have one broody at this time.

The other hens, including the roo, are about ready to mutiny. She's downright mean to them right now. They can't wait until she goes back onto a nest, so they can get some peace.
 
Kwewu7 said:
Thank you everyone for your suggestions for my broody with the bad leg. Since a wire-bottomed crate is not feasible with her, I did try the plastic dog crate. She loved it. Loved it so much it became her new 'nest' that she'd run to. Not exactly breaking her of the idea of brooding, but I'm sure it works great for other hens.

So, she and I have hatched a plan (yes, I crack myself up). While she's broody, I will serve as her 4x/day slave. Part physical therapist (getting the bad leg moving), part personal assistant (I take her off the nest and deliver her to the food/water), and part jail warden (locking her out of the nestbox).

It's highly inconvenient for me, but I don't want her to suffer in this heat, and especially with her disability, so I'm happy to do it. Thank HEAVENS I only have one broody at this time.

The other hens, including the roo, are about ready to mutiny. She's downright mean to them right now. They can't wait until she goes back onto a nest, so they can get some peace.
Click to expand...


I'm sorry it didn't work....did you lock her in the crate with no bedding.....only food and water?
 
OK reading this thread shows me that we did the right thing. Here is our answer to a broody hen.



There is water and feed for the broody hen we let her out just before dusk
when they head up into the coop for the night and we block off the nesting boxes
so they can't try to nest at night.
Now we will have to wait and see how long it takes.
 
ChuckT said:
OK reading this thread shows me that we did the right thing. Here is our answer to a broody hen.



There is water and feed for the broody hen we let her out just before dusk
when they head up into the coop for the night and we block off the nesting boxes
so they can't try to nest at night.
Now we will have to wait and see how long it takes.

looks like that should work!
thumbsup.gif
Click to expand...
 
ChuckT said:
OK reading this thread shows me that we did the right thing. Here is our answer to a broody hen.



There is water and feed for the broody hen we let her out just before dusk
when they head up into the coop for the night and we block off the nesting boxes
so they can't try to nest at night.
Now we will have to wait and see how long it takes.
Click to expand...

You really want them off the ground so they can't heat up underneath. AND, since it cools off (hopefully) overnight, you want them in the box then since that is the best chance for their undersides to "chill". The name is cute and while I do sometimes think of my broody buster as "jail", everyone should understand broodiness isn't a stubborn streak to be punished, it is a hormonal issue. They really can't help it, the little voice keeps saying "MUST SIT ON NEST, MUST SIT ON NEST, MUST SIT ON NEST".

If my broody is looking like she might be getting over it (not being clucky in the box or insistent on getting out), I'll let her out in the morning to eat BOSS with the other girls. If she heads back to the nest, in the box she goes. I watched one go from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. REALLY. I could SEE the transformation. Foraging away with the other girls for a couple of hours, then this little "urgent look" and the neck feathers flared. Then heading slowly toward the barn, then more "urgency", the neck feathers flare some more and a dead run for the nest box. It was surreal.

To the poster with the nosy "helpful" neighbor: Ask her if it is more cruel for the hen to be in a roomy cage with food and water where they WILL eat and drink, or let her be "happy" in the nest, slowly starving to death. Education is important here, obviously there are plenty of people with chickens who are confounded by a broody. The general non chicken owning population has no clue what is going on. They mean well, but their lack of knowledge is bad for the fowl.
 
bruceha2000 said:
You really want them off the ground so they can't heat up underneath. AND, since it cools off (hopefully) overnight, you want them in the box then since that is the best chance for their undersides to "chill". The name is cute and while I do sometimes think of my broody buster as "jail", everyone should understand broodiness isn't a stubborn streak to be punished, it is a hormonal issue. They really can't help it, the little voice keeps saying "MUST SIT ON NEST, MUST SIT ON NEST, MUST SIT ON NEST".

If my broody is looking like she might be getting over it (not being clucky in the box or insistent on getting out), I'll let her out in the morning to eat BOSS with the other girls. If she heads back to the nest, in the box she goes. I watched one go from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. REALLY. I could SEE the transformation. Foraging away with the other girls for a couple of hours, then this little "urgent look" and the neck feathers flared. Then heading slowly toward the barn, then more "urgency", the neck feathers flare some more and a dead run for the nest box. It was surreal.

To the poster with the nosy "helpful" neighbor: Ask her if it is more cruel for the hen to be in a roomy cage with food and water where they WILL eat and drink, or let her be "happy" in the nest, slowly starving to death. Education is important here, obviously there are plenty of people with chickens who are confounded by a broody. The general non chicken owning population has no clue what is going on. They mean well, but their lack of knowledge is bad for the fowl.
Click to expand...


Hello.

I've had a small flock of Faverolles for a few months (my first, 3 hens, 1 roo, all about a year old) and one of the hens started acting broody a few days ago. For about 2 days she was spent much of her time in the nesting box (even though I removed the eggs), then she kind of hunkered down and flattened out and wouldn't leave the box at all for over 24 hours. Once I determined what was going on (thanks to this forum), I removed her to a rabbit hutch, yesterday afternoon. This morning she was alert (she was on her perch, she greeted me, she seemed to want to join the others) but she wasn't especially fussy and did not have an "urgent look."

1. Is there a "typical" amount of time it takes to break broodiness? Are there specific signs to look for?
2. It is unseasonably cool here (40s - low 50s) today and will be for the next two days. I've notice my other chickens are spending more time in the coop than they normally would. Is it too cold to keep her in the hutch (it has a roof, but it is outside and too big to move), away from her flock?

Thanks.
 
DanteLarkin said:
Hello.

I've had a small flock of Faverolles for a few months (my first, 3 hens, 1 roo, all about a year old) and one of the hens started acting broody a few days ago. For about 2 days she was spent much of her time in the nesting box (even though I removed the eggs), then she kind of hunkered down and flattened out and wouldn't leave the box at all for over 24 hours. Once I determined what was going on (thanks to this forum), I removed her to a rabbit hutch, yesterday afternoon. This morning she was alert (she was on her perch, she greeted me, she seemed to want to join the others) but she wasn't especially fussy and did not have an "urgent look."

1. Is there a "typical" amount of time it takes to break broodiness? Are there specific signs to look for?
2. It is unseasonably cool here (40s - low 50s) today and will be for the next two days. I've notice my other chickens are spending more time in the coop than they normally would. Is it too cold to keep her in the hutch (it has a roof, but it is outside and too big to move), away from her flock?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

1. a) No and different for each bird. I have 5 that go broody, half the flock
he.gif
. The Cubalaya is easiest, usually a day or two. The Black Australorp one to three days. The Partridge Chantecler and both Favorelles are harder, minimum two days and then only if it is cool (40s) to cold (everything colder than 40s
wink.png
) overnight. Often 5 to 7 days. As long as two weeks in the summer when the night time temps are 60s and up.

1. b) Mine will be VERY alert if they are still broody because they want OUT. Of course they want out for morning BOSS whether they are still broody or not. If mine are still broody, they will be "clucky" rather than making their normal noises. For the Chantecler that is a kind of trilling coo. The Faverolles' normal "voice" is a harsh "raaaa, raaaa". If they are still broody, they will come out of the cage (it sits on the 4' high parallel roosts against the wall), hop/flap down to the ground, then continue at a run with wings flapping madly (not quite enough to get airborn) down the barn alley making loud noise all the way to the outside door (about 20') where I toss the BOSS. If they aren't broody any more, they will get down and walk, MAYBE run if all the other girls are out there but they won't be vocal. If I'm letting one out to test her because she is calm and not clucky, or because I have to change the water which I can't do without her escaping anyway, I don't toss the BOSS until the broody is with the rest of the girls. Then I watch to see what they do. If they head back to the nest pretty quickly after BOSS, sure sign they are still broody. Sometimes they will stay out with the rest of the girls for an hour or two, then head back to the nest and I put them in the box. They won't lay for at least a week (at least MINE won't) after they break so if they are in a nest anytime the same day as I've let them out of the box, they are still broody and will flatten down and scream at me as I approach. They know where they are going
wink.png
If they stay out of the nest all day, they are no longer broody.

2. Is it quite windy or rainy? My birds will stay in if it is very windy or rainy. They are out in light rain or winds to maybe 15 MPH, otherwise they come and go as the weather moderates and intensifies. They aren't out if it is windy AND rainy.

- How enclosed is the hutch? You don't want her out in the wind.
- Is the coop big enough you could build a broody buster box (even 12" by 24" or 18" by 18" would be OK) and put it in the coop, elevated?

Where are you in WI? My younger daughter is a Sophomore at Beloit College.
 
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Hi, I've recently had a broody hen, and as we dont really want any more, I looked for tips on here to break her broodiness. The first thing I tried was the dog crate, elevated on housebricks in garage for 2/3 days. This worked great but 4 weeks later the same hen has gone broody again, but still laying, although the eggs are smaller. So when I read this other tip, I thought I would give it a go.After the hens had laid I placed a hot water bottle full with frozen water(ice) that I had kept in the freezer overnight, into the nest under the straw.She sat on it reluctantly but after about 3 hours she rejoined her mates and so far all is well.
 

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