Another broody question

[heather134]

We have a hen that's been broody for 2-3 weeks now. We were out of town for a week and when we returned she had taken over the nest, chasing away other the other hens (we have 10 total). For the past two weeks we've kicked her out of the coop during the day. She began sitting on the nest at night but now the nests are blocked off in the evening. In a previous post it was recommended to cage her, but we don't have a good place to do that where she wouldn't get too hot. Our dog cage is pretty large and would take up most of the run, and it's far too hot in the garage. We could move her to our basement for a few weeks if needed. Is a cage still a better option than keeping her outside of the coop? It's been two weeks of trying to keep her off the nest and I hoped she might be broken by now.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have found that I don't need to keep them out if the coop, but I must have a smaller dog crate (I think I have all possible sizes - lol). I usually leave "broody jail" in the coop or run while breaking a hen. However, I did have one who just would NOT break. I ended up putting broody jail in one of my bathrooms. That finally worked.

Can you get/borrow a smaller crate? I really do think it's better for a hen to stay with the flock whenever possible to minimize problems once she snaps out of it.

 

[heather134]

Thanks for the response! I don't have anything smaller unfortunately.
Of all the hens, the broody one is the only one that doesn't have signs of trauma on her neck. I suspect she's been chasing the others off the nest by pecking their necks, so she may be just fine if I have to isolate her.
On the plus side, she seems better today. I removed the blockade from the nests this morning and for the first time she stayed with the other hens while I changed food and water instead of racing to sit on invisible babies. For the first week I wasn't as careful about her nest access, so I'm going to give it one more week of tough love before solitary confinement.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thanks for the response! I don't have anything smaller unfortunately.
Of all the hens, the broody one is the only one that doesn't have signs of trauma on her neck. I suspect she's been chasing the others off the nest by pecking their necks, so she may be just fine if I have to isolate her.
On the plus side, she seems better today. I removed the blockade from the nests this morning and for the first time she stayed with the other hens while I changed food and water instead of racing to sit on invisible babies. For the first week I wasn't as careful about her nest access, so I'm going to give it one more week of tough love before solitary confinement.

Sounds like you're on the right track! Keep us posted!!!

 

[3KillerBs]

Here is my outdoor broody breaker.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/outdoor-broody-breaker.76592/

Our dog cage is pretty large and would take up most of the run,

I am concerned about this statement. If you have 10 hens you ought to have a minimum of 100 square feet of run -- 10'x10' -- which should be plenty of room for even a really big dog crate like the one I use.