I have broody issues!!! Need help, I think????

[Judy]

It really isn't so bad to cage a broody. I don't like caging either, I free range some of mine and the rest have a HUGE yard. But a broody sits there 24/7 except to get up once a day, so caging her is really more like keeping the others out than her in.

My broody was in a cage in the coop. When I opened the coop the first morning, she stood up, so I let her out of the cage, and she did her chicken thing for maybe 20 minutes, even going outdoors to scratch for a little while. Then she went back and I shut the cage again, to keep the others out of her nest. I did mark the eggs in case someone laid in there while she was out that little while. This went on the whole 3 weeks. In the afternoon I'd hand feed her a few tomato chunks and some feed; she wouldn't get up again but she'd eat from my hand.

Worked great. As soon as there were chicks, I took the whole cage out. All get along fine.

 

[lauralou]

I have 10 broody hens. Sigh... It truly is a contagious disease.

With one of my first hatches, I allowed 2 broodies to sit in the same (very large) nest box. It didn't work out very well, and I ended up moving one of them.

Now I always separate my broodies. I built 2 little broody houses, sort of like doghouses, each to hold 1 broody hen and her babies. That little system is working out very well. The babies sleep in their little houses until they are large enough to join the big birds in the coops.

I have friends who have different setups for housing their broodies. A dog carrier. A little pen built in under the nestboxes. A "cage" affixed to the wall off the ground. The possibilities differ depending on your particular situation.

If you plan to do more hatching, on any sort of a regular basis, I do think that it is wise to have a plan for separating your broody hen from the general population. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate.

 

[vwoods]

I had 2 broodies at the same time. Plus all the other girls were laying in the same spot and it was getting confusing. Ended up placing 8 eggs under 1 hen who I placed in a dog crate in the coop. The crate is big enough that I was able to divide it into a nesting area and an area towards the front where I placed food and water. I let her out every morning for about 30 minutes to run around, do a big poop and eat and drink a little. She is due to hatch the little ones on June 24'th. The other broody - didn't stay broody because I kept mivong her out of the nesting boxes - several times a day and she finally gave up. Good luck with your broody and hope you have a "Happy" hatch!