Advice please? Keep doing what I'm doing?

[honeyb711]

So it seems that Delilah, our Light Sussex, is broody. She is about 7/8months old & has only been laying about a month. She is also, still laying, but now adding the other girls eggs to her pile aswell. This started about 5days ago, she isn't leaving the nesting box willingly, but once we lift her out she seems almost relieved, & has a feed & a huge drink, before climbing back in, after we have collected her stash.

Should we try the wire based cage for abit, or is it OK that we just keep going as we are? I don't want her stressed, but we definitely cannot get any eggs for her to hatch, no matter how much I would love too.

 

[bobbi-j]

It depends on how quickly you want to break her broodiness, I think. The last broody I had, I didn't want hatching out so I just kept doing as you are - removing her from the nest and taking her eggs. It still took about 3 weeks - the same as if I'd just have let her be - before she decided she wasn't going to set anymore. I've never used the wire cage but if I remember, people say it only takes a few days to break her that way.

 

[honeyb711]

OK, thank you for replying. I guess I was just wanting to be sure I'm not stressing her too much by moving her & taking the eggs away. How long it lasts doesn't bother me much, she isn't hurting anyone, I just worry about her not coming out to drink while we are at work, because as I said, she is extremely thirsty whenever we lift her out. I don't really want to add water to the coop though, as i imagine it may only encourage her to stay in there?

 

[DwayneNLiz]

just need to cool her under sides so wire cage, with food and water

i have also heard a 5 minute ice bath can work, longer if its hot where you are (which i think its going into summer right now??)

 

[honeyb711]

just need to cool her under sides so wire cage, with food and water

i have also heard a 5 minute ice bath can work, longer if its hot where you are (which i think its going into summer right now??)

Yeah we are just a week from Summer here, & temps are already spiking to mid-high thirties. So her water consumption, or lack thereof, does concern me most, as some days we are gone for 12+hrs.

I will see how she goes for the next day or 2, I'm home for a couple, & if she is still the same I might just try the wire cage.

 

[aart]

The cold water dunk thing is a last resort IMO.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, 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 and I would feed her some crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day(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.
Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken, feed can be added too if you're gone to work all day.

 

[honeyb711]

Thank you. Yeah I personally wouldn't do the cold water bath anyway, I would feel too mean

Well it seems that after a week she is 'getting over it' herself. Yesterday she came out on her own, & didn't return straight after I took the eggs like she had been. She too is still laying though, only skipping one day this last week.

What I am wondering now though is could the fake egg that was still in their coop had something to do with why she went broody maybe? I only wonder because yesterday is the first day she actually stayed out all week...& yesterday is when I found & took the fake egg aswell...which she had added to her nest overnight

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I doubt the fake egg made her broody. I do note that if I miss collecting for a day in spring one bird inevitably goes brooding. It's a trigger during prime conditions but not a direct cause. IF you took every egg as soon as it's laid they still go broody.

Wire cages are awesome for breaking a brood. I don't have one anymore so put the brooding hens in the grow out pen and keep coop door closed all day so they've no place to nest. That works fine too.

 

[honeyb711]

I doubt the fake egg made her broody. I do note that if I miss collecting for a day in spring one bird inevitably goes brooding. It's a trigger during prime conditions but not a direct cause. IF you took every egg as soon as it's laid they still go broody.

Wire cages are awesome for breaking a brood. I don't have one anymore so put the brooding hens in the grow out pen and keep coop door closed all day so they've no place to nest. That works fine too.

Thanks. Yeah we collect daily, so besides the fake egg, she had no eggs to sit on after removal. She was first out of the coop for breakfast today though, so I think we might be good.