Buff Orpington girl won’t leave nestbox in dead winter

[Estrella]

Buff Orpingtons are a very broody breed so yes it sounds like she's broody. Just because she's broody though, doesn't mean you should give in to her demands and actually let her hatch eggs. As you mentioned, it's way too cold and the wrong time of year for broodiness. It's the wrong time of year for chicks, too. They can manage to some extent, but mid-winter in Sweden, you're pushing it. I would strongly recommend breaking her. If you don't feel comfortable using the crate, you can use a different method, keeping in mind that the point of it is for her to not have a nest, or anything she could make a nest out of. So put her in an enclosure that has no bedding in it.

Domesticated animals, especially chickens, have been changed and shaped by humans to such an extensive degree, that there's very little "natural" left in them, including instincts. Chickens' instincts are all over the place. Often they will kill their own young for no apparent reason at all. They lay every day for months or years at a time - what normal animal does that in nature? They will attack and kill members of their own flock/family for stupid reasons. What social animal does this in nature? Their brooding behavior is all over the place, too - they will go broody at the wrong time of year, or be inconsistent when sitting, or abandon their eggs, or abandon their chicks. So, don't rely on the hen to "know what she's doing", or on "nature" to guide the process. There is nothing natural about a hen going broody in the middle of winter in Sweden. For her own sake, and for that of her future chicks, break her now and try again when the weather starts warming up. Even if you take the fertilized eggs away, just letting her sit is bad for her health, too. Even if you give her food and water right under her nose, she will only get up to eat maybe once or twice a day - enough to survive for a few weeks, but not enough to be healthy and strong and withstand winter. And she may not know when to quit either (speaking of broken instincts) - hens have been known to brood indefinitely if allowed, until they slowly waste away and die. Sitting on eggs is very taxing on a hen's body, because she doesn't eat/drink/move enough, and doing it in a season when her body is already pushed hard to survive, is just extra challenging. Letting her sit because you don't want to have to break her isn't a very good reason to let her brood.

Hiya, thank you for your long and knowledgeable reply; I will take your advice and move her inside a semi-heated outbuilding (about 60 f) and put her in ”jail” as I don’t want her so close to metal in this weather. I hope that will work to break her.

 

[K0k0shka]

Hiya, thank you for your long and knowledgeable reply; I will take your advice and move her inside a semi-heated outbuilding (about 60 f) and put her in ”jail” as I don’t want her so close to metal in this weather. I hope that will work to break her.

Good decision. And good luck! Some of them can be stubborn and can take a whole week, but don't give up!

 

[Estrella]

Good decision. And good luck! Some of them can be stubborn and can take a whole week, but don't give up!

Woaaah, thanks! I really hope it does not take that long. When I brought her in to examine her yesterday she was super chill and just hung with me out for quite a while , so hopefully she won’t be that bad to break!

 

[K0k0shka]

Woaaah, thanks! I really hope it does not take that long. When I brought her in to examine her yesterday she was super chill and just hung with me out for quite a while , so hopefully she won’t be that bad to break!

The longer they've been sitting, the longer they'll take to break, because they've already set into the pattern... it's best if you take them out and jail them as soon as you notice that they're broody. And sometimes they'll have "incomplete broodiness" (more broken instincts!) which sounds like what your hen is going through - if she goes up to the roost to sleep, and still lays eggs occasionally, then she's not full on 100% properly broody, but she's not non-broody either. This is another reason why it's a bad idea to give her fertile eggs and let her sit - if she's not fully and properly committed, she may abandon the eggs or not care for them properly. I have hens who do this occasionally - they are "sort of broody", in that they'll go through the motions to some extent, but not all the way. They'd spend all day in the box, but then leave it and go perch for the night. Or sit in different nests or even outside under a bush, and change their sitting location periodically. Chickens are a mess

 

[Estrella]

The longer they've been sitting, the longer they'll take to break, because they've already set into the pattern... it's best if you take them out and jail them as soon as you notice that they're broody. And sometimes they'll have "incomplete broodiness" (more broken instincts!) which sounds like what your hen is going through - if she goes up to the roost to sleep, and still lays eggs occasionally, then she's not full on 100% properly broody, but she's not non-broody either. This is another reason why it's a bad idea to give her fertile eggs and let her sit - if she's not fully and properly committed, she may abandon the eggs or not care for them properly. I have hens who do this occasionally - they are "sort of broody", in that they'll go through the motions to some extent, but not all the way. They'd spend all day in the box, but then leave it and go perch for the night. Or sit in different nests or even outside under a bush, and change their sitting location periodically. Chickens are a mess

Oh, I do think Helen (that’s her name) is pretty committed, and as of today she started to puff up. At first I honestly thought she was hiding from our rooster who is obsessed with her, and I didn’t blame her, his manners are horrible compared to my other (older) rooster. But then last night she slept in the box. I’ll do my best tomorrow morning, it’s late evening here now, I’ll hang out with her and watch her (my studio is in the semi-heated outbuilding) tomorrow. Saw the blue coop you’ve bulit, it’s gorgeous! Love the lush backyard.

 

[K0k0shka]

Oh, I do think Helen (that’s her name) is pretty committed, and as of today she started to puff up. At first I honestly thought she was hiding from our rooster who is obsessed with her, and I didn’t blame her, his manners are horrible compared to my other (older) rooster. But then last night she slept in the box. I’ll do my best tomorrow morning, it’s late evening here now, I’ll hang out with her and watch her (my studio is in the semi-heated outbuilding) tomorrow. Saw the blue coop you’ve bulit, it’s gorgeous! Love the lush backyard.

Thank you! I'll need to update the pictures, they're a few years old now and I've changed the setup somewhat.

I'm jealous of your winters, by the way! We used to get real winters with lots of snow over here in Boston USA, but not anymore. We didn't get any proper snow last winter (not enough for the kids to sled on), and so far we haven't had even a dusting this winter The chickens are very happy, of course, but the humans are sad, especially the little ones.

 

[Estrella]

Thank you! I'll need to update the pictures, they're a few years old now and I've changed the setup somewhat.

I'm jealous of your winters, by the way! We used to get real winters with lots of snow over here in Boston USA, but not anymore. We didn't get any proper snow last winter (not enough for the kids to sled on), and so far we haven't had even a dusting this winter The chickens are very happy, of course, but the humans are sad, especially the little ones.

Yeah, we’re pretty lucky in a strange way - the masses of snow does wonders for the groundwater, which nowadays is a luxury! But, if you asked my Buffs they’d much rather be in Boston, as well as my Swedish Flower hens and my Plymouth Rocks… They stand in the door and look at the snow, but never set their little T Rex feet on it…

 

[Estrella]

Update a little more than 24 hrs into jailtime… Moved her to jail yesterday morning at 6 am, she was super nice about it, ate, went to the chicken bathroom and has since been preched on a roost I put in there, eating and drinking well. So, figured I’d try and put her back in the coop to see what she would do and the second she got back, our Rooster jumped her and would not leave her alone. If I was her, I’d hire a hitman for him. But, then she ran straight back to the nest, where I again snatched her and put her back in jail, which is in a different, warmer building, where I also hang out a few hours / day. So, we’re in for another day, or two., or three… We’ll see how long this takes!

 

[aart]

It's best to leave the breaker crate in the coop, so the flock can still see her 24/7.

 

[Estrella]

Yes, I know this, but don’t want to leave her in a small metallic crate at -13 celcius. That’s why.