Broodiness Cycle

[fanniefarmer]

May I ask, what is your version of broody jail? I usually put mine with a rooster and they give up motherhood real fast.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Hi. I have a BA that goes thru phases. I have a couple others right now that are trying to be broody. I collect eggs often, and once I get them, I put the girls on the ground. They aren't happy, they have their fits and its comical. But they don't stay broody.
I also read some time ago about putting ice cubes underneath them as a possible way to break the broodiness..

Yes, I did the same with mine; I'd just broken her and a week later she started puffing and clucking but before she could go full broody I just started tossing her the second she finished laying! It was hilarious Full on tiny fluffy raptor!

 

[Col1948]

$2000 on vet bills, well stuff that.

 

[Sea Wolf]

I have a hen that is CONSTANTLY going broody. I usually give her the 3 days in broody jail to break her. Well, for the first time I decided to let nature do it's thing and her broodiness break on it's own... My question is, how long does that generally take?
T.I.A.

3 days isn't long enough. A week at least. Nothing underneath for bedding. Just open air. Need to cool off those raging hormones.

 

[Col1948]

Something crossed my mind, in those roll-away nest boxes they don't use nesting material, so the egg can roll away easy.
So I'm thinking they want the chicken to go in, lay and egg and come out and not have it sat there, having nesting material can perhaps encourage hens to go broody, so I am removing the nesting material from the nest boxes and see if they still lay.
I have already ordered some roll-away boxes so in the mean time I'll try this.

 

[Don P]

Yes they will lay without nesting material especially if you have already trained them to those hutches. Otherwise if they free pasture they might find a fluffier spot.
Roll outs work sometimes but I have hens that will sit on no eggs and no straw. They just brood for nothing. I also had an old goose who would brood on her eggs each year and we take them away she would pile up 3-4 inch rocks and sit on them. Don't know how she scooted them all into the barn and piled them and would sit for a month or more. We felt so sorry for her but she was happy.

 

[Sea Wolf]

May I ask, what is your version of broody jail? I usually put mine with a rooster and they give up motherhood real fast.

Hens pluck their breast bare to keep eggs (real or imagined) warm. Put the hen in a dog kennel or crate and make sure the bottom remains open to air. No bedding. After a week or two of this and the bare breast exposed to cooling air the broody hormones stop. What keeps them in a broody state is that breast staying warm by either sitting in a nest or even on the ground. Cooling it off for an extended time is the best way to break the cycle.

 

[Jasonpdx]

Nope. A Black Australorp. She literally goes broody every other month

Our black astrolop gets broody too. Then she goes to jail for 2-3 days. Usually happens a couple times each summer. She and our Americana really want to hatch some eggs. I've explained the rules to them a couple times. Think they are just career criminals.

 

[Elfer]

Broodiness is contagious in my flock. "Oh, look at sister's cute babies! And hear that chirp? I must have some, too!"

 

[aart]

Something crossed my mind, in those roll-away nest boxes they don't use nesting material, so the egg can roll away easy.
So I'm thinking they want the chicken to go in, lay and egg and come out and not have it sat there, having nesting material can perhaps encourage hens to go broody, so I am removing the nesting material from the nest boxes and see if they still lay.
I have already ordered some roll-away boxes so in the mean time I'll try this.

You may need bedding in there until they get used to the new nests, then slowly remove it to get the roll away affect.