How to Break a Broody Hen

[moonflower17]

Thanks for your input. I just have a chicken coop in my city backyard. The hens run free in the backyard during the day. I have to keep the coop door open though in case they get scared of anything (like hawks...)

I am going to put Ruby out with the other chickens today though and just see what happens. Wish me luck. Never had a broody hen before. She's the only one who's been laying eggs for me since the winter weather lightened up slightly and the sun came out.

 

[MackChick]

Just thought I'd share my recent experience breaking my broody hen... I wasn't ready to try the wire cage method so thought I'd try something else to cool her vent. It's been about -5 C here so I wanted to see if the cool temperatures would break her. I locked her out of the coop all day then let her back in at night but blocked off the nest boxes. In the morning I locked her out again (opened up the nest boxes to the other chickens), and at night let her back in and closed off the boxes again. I went out on the third morning and she was on the roost with the other chickens! I let all the girls out of the coop leaving their door open so they could go in/out as they please... she hung out with the other girls all day, not returning to the nest box. Woo hoo! No eggs from her yet, but I think her broodiness is broken!

 

[moonflower17]

Thank you for sharing MC!

I had an easy solution, which you guys are going to think I'm a dork for not thinking of earlier - which was to take the fake egg off the nest. I might have to try something else if she goes back into the broody phase but right now she seems like she's over brooding (till next time)...

 

[Sierrab]

Is broodiness broken when she lays an egg or when she goes foraging with the rest of them?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The broody spell is broken when they no longer want to spend so much of their time setting on the nest. Most broodies won't continue to lay once they've begun to set, so if they lay an egg -- and especially if they don't want to set on it -- their spell should be broken. Others will take more days to begin laying after they stop feeling broody, but if they're spending most of their time foraging & returning to their previously scheduled programming, sleeping on a roost & not in a nest box, their spell should be over.

Each hen is different, and some will go for a long time in a half-broody sort of state. I think of them as "Hollywood Hens", like those ladies in show business who vacillate between career & motherhood...

 

[pegm]

My set up is such that they go into a secure area and up into their roosting coop at night, and during the day they have access to that area and the run where the nest boxes are. I went out this morning and my BO who had been showing signs of going broody was in a nest box. I tossed her out, but she's back in now as there is no way to close off the nest boxes (2) to just her. The only thing I can think of (without doing the cage thingy, which I can do as a last resort) is to put her in the area that the roosting coop is in, and lock it up so she can't get into the run, this does deprive the other 3 of the shadiest area of the run/coop, but it is only supposed to be in the 70's this week. Does this sound like it may work? It is cooler in there also because it is the shadiest area.

 

[Sierrab]

My hen decided to go back to normal as soon as we built her a brooder with a wire floor!
Didn't even put her in it, she was on the roost that very night. But we have a great setup for the next one.

 

[SussexInSeattle]

I'm only on message #24 out of 400+ and so maybe this has already been answered 10 times over BUT, in my experience, you leave the broody on the fertile eggs that you bought for her until they start to hatch! Get at least two or three done hatching THEN. Move broody, hatched chicks and remaining g eggs to the new location!

If you move everything per-hatch, it can screw up broody's thinking process and she may try to figure where the original nest was and go back there, leaving the fertile eggs to die.

Chickens just are not so smart! BUT once the chicks have begun to hatch out, she is very unlikely to leave the little chirpers to go sit on eggs elsewhere, after she starts to witness the fruits of her labor, her momma instincts should kick in to high gear.

Also don't be worried about the other chickens bugging momma and chicks, be worried that mama hen will peck the eyeballs out of any chicken or other animal that gets anywhere near her imaginary line!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote: IMO you can try doing that to see if it will be enough to change your hen's mind. But BO's tend to be a broody breed and she may be more difficult than most to discourage. Start of by trying the easiest method, but if it doesn't work you may have to get more strict.

And if she proves to be really resistant to the idea, you may consider letting her incubate some eggs, or swap her for another hen. Sometimes it's better to let them do what their strong instincts are commanding rather than frustrate yourself & your bird trying to change their nature.

 

[pegm]

Thank you for your advise. This is what I did. I made a separate pen outside of the coop/run area where she could still see her coop mates. It was completely shaded. That evening late I put her in the secure area with the roosting coop and no access to the nest boxes. She paced around but eventually went to roost. The next morning I put her in the separate pen again, and repeated the evening exercise whereby she went immediately to roost. Put her in the pen the third morning, but about mid afternoon I let them all out in a side yard to scratch and forage (an area separate from the run/coop area). Then I covered the nests boxes as the others had already laid for the day, and put them all back into the run/coop. The BO hasn't even looked at the nest boxes yet and has resumed her normal activities...I hope this holds, time will tell.