Ack! Got a broody one - Americauna Easter Egger

[kagarris]

I found a thread on this site recently that recommended a dog crate to isolate my broody hen. If I recall correctly, the goal was to keep her off the floor with air under her to keep her hiney cooled.

I couldn't find that particular post to reply today or remind myself of any details. I ordered a crate and expect to have it in a day or two. I have a plan for food and water. I wanted to see what else I needed to plan for, sadly I can't find that same post. While browsing through posts today I saw mention that "broody" might be a recurring problem. Is that typical or rare? If typical, I realize I'm feeding a hen that isn't producing. Is there anything more problematic than the fact that she isn't producing? Will her broodiness cause other hens to go broody, or something like that?

This is my first flock. I have nine hens. I was raised on a farm until a teenager and we (my dad) butchered our animals. I thought I could just butcher any hens that didn't produce. I guess I'm old. I don't want to butcher any of them. They are like pets now. They are so sweet and affectionate. I never expected that from chickens!

Can someone elaborate on what to expect with a broody hen? I am planning to use the dog crate to keep her hiney cooled. I think I need to keep her in that for 72 hours. If I let her out and she goes right back to the nest, another 72 hours in the jail (dog crate).

What can I expect after that? I appreciate any advice, especially if I am planning to do something wrong!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I remember that article. I think the goal is to keep her belly cool to help break her of being broody. Broodiness is, as I recall, a hormonal thing, in which the hens decide they want to hatch eggs, not just keep producing them indefinitely. Which is part of the natural cycle of life for all creatures great and small, when you think about it. Don't chop her head off just yet, it's a temporary condition. Most hens will go broody (if at all) for about 3 weeks, the length of time it takes eggs to hatch, then they'll get back to their day job, the one you hired them for, that is, producing eggs, not hatching them. Or rather, they will do so if they haven't lost weight and/or condition while being broody. Good luck!

 

[LRH97]

If you're looking to break her, the idea is to make her as least cozy as possible. A dog crate with no litter/bedding is usually sufficient. Air moving up under the bird does seem to help. The time spent in the broody breaker really depends. The longer she sets, the harder it will be to break her. Then some hens are just plain stubborn. Others may break after a day or two.

Broodiness in my flock is like a disease. One will be setting in the nest boxes and then a couple days later another one may be. I've had up to six at once before. You may have a recurring broody, you may not. Depends on the individual. One of my older Brahmas is working on four years old and she just went broody this past spring for the first time (she was a good setter, but lousy mom). I've had others that have gone once and haven't since. Then others still are my faithful broodies and are fantastic mothers.

Broodiness is looked at in different ways, depending on who you are and what you're doing with your birds, but it's not necessarily a negative thing and certainly not something I'd cull for. I myself am indifferent to it. Plus, if you have them as pets, they're probably there for more of the enjoyment rather than the production anyway, yes? There's nothing wrong with allowing a hen to set--if you want chicks. However, you shouldn't let her be perpetually broody. Sitting in one spot on top of a nest forever is not good for a bird's health.

 

[blackandtan]

To break a broody I think the idea with the wire dog crate is to make it too uncomfortable to sit for long periods...I’ve got a broody myself right now! I know it’s more common with some breeds than with others, overall it’s not that common, I’ve had chickens for several years and this is the first time I’ve had one committed to sitting on the nest for more than a week or two - they usually get bored after a couple days lol

 

[kagarris]

I have nine hens. They don't all lay daily. On days when they all lay (only the last few days) I have booted her from the nest and closed the door for a couple of hours. She did not find a place on the ground to settle. I observed her behavior today when I opened the nest door. She wasted no time at all going up to the nests. She poked her head in two of them and quietly cooed. Then she picked an empty nest (I already removed all eggs) and settled in.

Silly chicken! We have no rooster...

 

[rosemarythyme]

I found a thread on this site recently that recommended a dog crate to isolate my broody hen. If I recall correctly, the goal was to keep her off the floor with air under her to keep her hiney cooled.

While browsing through posts today I saw mention that "broody" might be a recurring problem. Is that typical or rare? If typical, I realize I'm feeding a hen that isn't producing. Is there anything more problematic than the fact that she isn't producing? Will her broodiness cause other hens to go broody, or something like that?

I am planning to use the dog crate to keep her hiney cooled. I think I need to keep her in that for 72 hours. If I let her out and she goes right back to the nest, another 72 hours in the jail (dog crate).

The wire bottom is to allow for air circulation to cool off her belly, to help break her of broodiness. I don't use a wire bottom cage myself (just an isolation pen) since I haven't had issues breaking with just a pen.

I would do 3 days (72 hours) then if she's not showing obvious signs of being broody (some of them you can tell right away they're not broken), let her out and watch what she does. If she heads back to the nest box, back in the cage she goes for another 24 hours. Repeat the next day, and so forth. Keep in mind they may not head back to the nest box immediately when you let them out to test... mine would dust bathe or wander around and have a meal, and THEN go and sit in the nest box. So back in the cage she goes.

Some hens are serial broodies - you won't know for sure what your hen will be until she does it again (and again). Some hens go broody once and never again.

Broodiness isn't infectious but some may claim it is.

 

[aart]

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.
Look closely here how to add 1x2 cage mesh on the bottom of wire crate:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/
Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.