How to stop broody hen?

[lilypad]

Sometimes letting them snap out of it by themselves can work, but it's not ideal. Some hens are determined and will sit and sit and sit until they about kill themselves. I remember my MIL had a determined broody that stayed on her nest for 3 months once. She just wouldn't give up. I've also heard of hens dying after really long broody spells. So it's best (and kinder) to break them if you don't want to/can't let them hatch eggs. Good luck with your broody hens and let us know if the ice packs works for you

Yes, I've been ready about how it can be bad to let them sit and sit. Within a few weeks of having my Goldtop, Millie, she went broody, I tried turfing her out for a few weeks but that didn't help, then left her to it after I was told I was being cruel for doing so, it took her about 2 and a half months to snap out of it and she was sooooooo thin. She's just put all the weight back on but then went broody again, I didn't think she'd go full broody with the weather changing and getting cooler now but she disagreed. My Welsummer has been broody for around 2 months now and she is really thin and just looks unhealthy, so definitely time to make her give up. Wrong time of year for chicks I think and I haven't got anywhere to put a broody hen right now (have some young hens in the spare coop), but maybe next spring I will get my goldtop some sex-link day olds to raise She's such a lovely girl, I think she'd be a great mum.

Thank you

 

[Obrienm]

Thanks guys! Sorry for my naive comment earlier about a command or snapping your fingers! I'm really sorry!

All the amazing support and friends i have on BYC is completely amazing and my heart is bursting with love for you guys! Keep on posting and maybe say some stuff you love about BYC!

 

[lisa25]

I just keep removing mine whenever I see them on the nest. Works after about a week or so. Watch out for pecking and growling!

 

[Squizz]

Please excuse my ignorance, but just having a read because I'm concerned about one of my "girlies" called Ruby.

She's been sitting a couple of days now, and I was looking to see what to expect. She's not come out at all today to eat or drink or move so I know I've got to move her. She's normally the last to lay (out of what was a flock of four) and would normally be off the nest by 1pm. We've recently (in just over a week) had the flock halved by one of the neighbour's dogs. The first one went missing and we just found a pile of feathers and the latest was chased into a field behind the coop on Saturday. (Ruby was a already in sitting mode by then and that might have saved her.).

Would she still lay on a daily basis if it was broodyness or do you think she is traumatised? She does the screech when I open the door to look in on her and she has adopted the other hen's egg. We do not have a roo, and no one else has chickens around us.

Many thanks for any pointers.

 

[houseofknauss]

the only thing you can do is take her eggs away or find someone with fertilized eggs and slip them under her at night. I had a broody chicken for 2 months, nothing I did worked, so I just dealt with it.(no eggs during that time) I would pick her up (yelling at me) and take her across the yard so she would take a dirt bath and peck at the ground for food. she would do it for 1/2 and hour and then back in she would go. after she stopped her sitting routine it took another month before she started laying again. next spring when I have one go broody, I am gonna let her sit on some eggs.(we have roosters)--love to give you one if you weren't so darn far away!

get some fertilized eggs and let her go to it! and kick that dog and warn the neighbors to keep it on a leash. you have every right to protect your livestock.

 

[babyfoot]

I have just managed to successfully break a broody. You see I have one already on eggs and she is top of pecking order almost so I can't let her share with anyone else. Every day for the last week I got out of bed at 6am to
1. lift my mother-to -be and out put her outside to poo and eat/stretch her legs /have a dust bath (if I don't do that she won't do any of those and will not be healthy)
2. to lift my second broody to do the same and then lock her in her own outside pen for the whole day until an hour before dark when I then let her out to roam with the others. Yaaaaaay, today she has been out with the others ALL day with no sign of broodiness, even her chest feathers are returning. I know she will try again soon but I only hope that it will be at least a month because then I can allow her to do it as the new hatches will be 4 wks old by then and add 3 wks to that for incubation... the new chicks will be with the rest of the flock by then leaving mama broody to have her own

 

[babyfoot]

broody hens stop laying once they are well into broody hormone time

 

[Squizz]

Thanks for that! Feel a bit as if it's all happening at once. Thanks again. I did put a note through the door and did get a text message so that's something but no comfort. She had a good life while she was with us.

 

[babyfoot]

So sorry to hear about the dog incident. One of our neighbours huge dogs sometimes come into our property too, even during the day while we are about but mostly at night. I see the pawprints all around the sand. Luckily they haven't done any damage as yet. One of our hens keeps going into another neighbours property too, he has two Jack Russees, he says he says his dogs are always contained in the small yard and not to worry about our hen as she eats up all the snails and slugs for him hahah

 

[love them chick]

We have two broddy hens. Our girls are free to roam and we don't have roosters.
I take them out of the coop and lock it up so they can't get in. I have no idea where the others are laying their eggs but I want to break these two asap. They both growl at me like a dog when I disturb them. The buff runs around like a chicken with it's head cut off and keeps running around the coup.
I noticed that the wild birds were laying eggs and hatching babies at this time. I guess spring is in the air.
I'll be happy when this is over.