2 months now ~ Broody Hens Help

CK Chickadilly

Songster
11 Years
Sep 11, 2008
1,055
2
169
West Michigan
I have 3 silkie/cochin girls that are broody & they are hogging up the laying boxes. When they come out to eat they hop back in but sometimes they don't take the same box. They will lay on an egg in the morning after one of the girls lays it but then by afternoon they are in another box & the egg is left in the other box by itself.

I don't want them in there anymore & this has been going on for a couple of months now! I can't keep them out of the boxes. What should I do to make them stop? Should I lock them up in a cage?

Any ideas would be helpful.
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The best way to break a broody is to keep her in a small cage off the ground with a wire bottom for three or four days. The wire bottom keeps her undersides cool, which seems to help. Give her food and water and she should be fine. Do not give her anything that looks like a nest or nesting materials.

If you don't have the wire cage, any small cage will do, but it might take a little longer. Just find a way to keep her from going back to her nest.

I saw a post where someone put coldpacks in the nest. The cold supposedly cured the broody. Never tried it myself.
 
Silkies are hard to break as you have found out!! Any chance you could give them each one or two chicks from the feed store? That'll break the cycle.
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If it were me (and I didn't want them to have chicks), I'd pen off a corner of the coop and either give them their own nest boxes (which will encourage them to stay broody) or put them in a cage with a wire bottom - no nesting material at all - and they say that'll break them in a couple of days. I've never tried it though. Good luck!
 
I have 2 week old bantam cochins & silkies, would that work?

I do have a wire bottom cage with nothing in it I could try that too.

Otherwise I have some that will hatch about March 29, I could wait I guess.

The other girls get so mad at these girls for hogging the boxes, it sometimes gets a bit ugly...lol

Thanks for the advise.
 
Well, you could TRY putting them under but stay close by to make sure all is well. I've done that before (the first time ever) with 2 chicks about that age and the mom accepted them but she was upset with one of them who was too independent for her liking. It wanted to wander and peck because, of course, it was older. She would peck it hard and lift her wing as if to say, "Get under here, you little brat!" It all worked out though. OR you could do it with the ones coming in. That would be sure to work if they're still broody. OR go ahead and try to break them. Your call!
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If I wait til my chicks are hatched from the bator (couple of weeks) then do I put the newly hatched chicks under the hens when it is night time? Can I put them under the hens as soon as they dry off or wait a day?
Thanks
 
Night is the best time to slip the chicks under. Not sure about waiting until they dry. You'll have to wait until the hatch finishes, of course, so you don't let the humidity out.
 

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