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  1. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Graciesing2us you'd need to put those eggs under a hen who was "broody", who was in the mood to set on a nest all day & night for weeks and incubate eggs. It's difficult to make a hen go broody if she doesn't want to, if she isn't getting the signals from her body to do it. Some folks say that...
  2. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Oh DEFINITELY put her in a Broody Buster cage ASAP! Four months is a long, long time for a hen to be setting! Leghorns aren't bred to be broody so something is a little haywire in this hen's head. Try putting the cage out in the sun during the daytime (with cover for shade of course) the...
  3. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    You *should* be able to put 2 broodies in the same buster, as long as they're getting along nicely.
  4. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Just begin at the beginning. The original post has a lot of good basic information.
  5. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Aww, don't feel guilty! Better she spend a few days in the Broody Buster than several weeks or more of futile brooding. Though if you find this hen is frequently going broody every 3-6 months you may want to allow her to set a few eggs once in a while. Buff Orps tend to be a broody breed...
  6. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Because each hen is different, with her own component of broody instincts & skills, there are a variety of ways to break one's broody mood. Some hens are so lightly committed their broodiness can be broken by simply taking her off the nest and putting her out in the sunny yard with the rest of...
  7. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Each hen seems to have her own component of broody skills. Some are just more competent than others. Especially breeds that have been selectively bred for production. It seems their DNA for broodiness can be a bit scrambled. I like to call these birds "Kardashi-hens" because they seem to...
  8. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Orpingtons tend to be a broody breed. You could try to change her mind in a Broody Buster cage, it might be easy to adjust her attitude. But if you find that she keeps going back to being broody every few months or less you might either want to accommodate her mood or trade her to someone who...
  9. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Jeanetteiacovon, one of the great things about keeping chickens is that there are really so very many different methods that can work for all sorts of folks. I'm glad your basketball method worked to help break your broody hen's spell. The way I keep my hens in a Broody Buster cage is not at...
  10. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    I've had the best success with a wire-bottomed cage set up on blocks or sawhorses so that there is a nice air flow up underneath their breast. I try to create the opposite environment they want for brooding. Bright light rather than shade, no bedding rather than a cozy nest, cool air up under...
  11. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    The dynamics of a chicken flock are a lot like those of a junior high gym class. Anyone who appears different will be targeted. Even hens that were once an accepted member of the flock might be targeted when they return after even a brief absence. IMO if a hen is frequently going broody...
  12. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    A hen won't lay eggs while she's feeling broody, so if she lays an egg in the Broody Buster cage that's a good sign that she is "back to her regularly scheduled programming." They don't eat/drink as much while they're broody, so your hen might not be doing that a lot until her broody spell is...
  13. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    You can try the cold water method, it needn't be near freezing, just cold enough to be felt. Just swish her undercarriage through the water, like she is a ducky tub toy you are pretending to make swim. Then let her loose in the yard to dry off & preen. This may do the trick to reprogram her...
  14. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    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...
  15. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    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...
  16. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Quote: I agree, there are usually a number of ways to raise chickens, a lot of variables to consider that make each situation unique. The little broody bantam that I swished in water continued to return to her nest even after that treatment. I just kept taking her off the nest each...
  17. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Today I gave a broody hen the cool water treatment, the first time I ever tried doing this. I had read that this treatment works because it not only makes a change for the hen from warm & dry to cold & wet, but her efforts to preen & re-arrange the wet feathers also helps re-program their...
  18. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    I think it's a combination of factors, and the more you can make it the opposite of broody conditions the better the effect. Being up off the nest, on a wire floor with no bedding, where there is bright light (but not direct hot sunlight), and plenty of other chicken company should all help...
  19. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    I think it's a combination of factors, and the more you can make it the opposite of broody conditions the better the effect. Being up off the nest, on a wire floor with no bedding, where there is bright light (but not direct hot sunlight), and plenty of other chicken company should all help...
  20. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Well then, you may want to consider the ideas in this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/675136/when-not-to-break-a-broody-hen
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