1st post :) ? w/ Broody Hen

[sashell]

I've been a lurker for the past 3 months and have been learning so much!!! I have 2 australorps that are currently laying but I feel 1 is or has gone "broody". She has been in her nesting box all day long with no eggs under her. I only have 2 layers and would like her to produce eggs as the eggs aren't fertile anyways. What's the quickest way for her to get back to "normal". I read about sticking her in a cold water bath but have no idea on how to do it or how long to do it. There's really not a way for me to seperate her from the nesting box/coop as we are also raising 5 americaunas (11 wks old) that are in our seperate area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chookychook]

Hi there,

I have no practical advice - excepting to say that we are in the same boat with our Australorp bantam - not only is she sitting in an empty nesting box, she is scaring away the other girls so that they have resorted to laying on the coop floor.

I look forward to members advice on the matter.

Btw: Welcome

 

[elmo]

Please, don't dunk your chicken in water. It won't work, and it could harm her.

Just sitting in a nestbox isn't necessarily a sign of being broody. She might be eggbound and trying to lay an egg in there. How does she behave when you approach her? If she puffs up and kind of shrieks at you, maybe even pecks, those are broody signs.

Pick her up gently and move her off the nestbox. Put her out in the run. Often that's all you need to do to get a hen back to her usual activities. Sometimes you have to do this several times a day, and sometimes a hen is so determined that you will have to put her someplace where she doesn't have access to nesting materials, inconvenient as that might be for you.

But try picking her up first and see how determined she is before you go to more drastic measures. Good luck!

 

[sashell]

Thank you Elmo!! The cold water thing sounded a little harsh. I've taken her off her nest during the day and she puffs/struts around the run with her feathers all "puffy". As soon as I leave she is back in the nesting box. Should I just shut off the nesting boxes? What should I do with my other egg layer as she is not broody and has been laying 1 egg a day this week. I haven't tried removing her from her nesting box at night and placing on the roost....I will try that tonight. We have wood shavings inside our coop floor is that a bad thing for her since she's broody if I shut the nesting boxes off?
Thanks for all the advice...I am so thankful to have such a wonderful place to go to get info as everyone seems so nice to help each other out!

 

[elmo]

Yup, puffy hen is broody.

You're going to have to figure out what the easiest way for you to discourage her is going to be. It's a hassle to put chickens in separate pens (believe me, I know), but you might need to do that. Either that, or just wait her out. If you keep disrupting her setting, and block the nestboxes at night, she might give up after a while. No way to tell how long that will be, though.

Alternatively, you could get some fertile hatching eggs......

 

[Bookworm chick]

I agree, puffy hen = broody. Is she sleeping in the nest as well or roosting with the other? If she also sleeps in the nesting box, she's broody.

 

[kano]

Separate her in a small cage (no nestbox) plenty of ligth, and wait for one week.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Yup, get her somewhere that she can feel air up under her breast. Maybe you can borrow a wire rabbit or parrot cage for a few days. She will need food & water but NO bedding. Hang it from the rafters or set it up on saw horses or blocks. Let her out after 2-3 days and see if she's reformed, if not, put her back for a few more days.

 

[sashell]

Thanks all for your advice!! Yes, she's sleeping in her nesting box (as of last night). Today I moved her out of the other nesting box 4 times and finally blocked them off after my other hen lay her egg today. Went out tonight and she was not on her normal high roost but the little 1x2 strip we have in front of the nesting boxes. So, I waited until the other hen was roosting and moved her to the high roost. I'm going to keep the nests blocked for tomorrow and just keep on distrupting her as needed. If not...I'll try and round up a rabbit cage. Thanks again for everything!!