Breaking a brood??

[Chickiepoo87]

I’ve read a lot about breaking a brood but I’m still full of questions... when do you decide to do this? And of course why? Also best practices ? Thank you

 

[azygous]

I'm not sure I understand your issue. Are you talking about breaking a broody hen? Hens that are broody have usually stopped laying and insist on sitting on a nest day and night.

To interrupt the hormones that cause this, we place the broody in a open mesh-bottom cage, depriving her of nesting material, and in a few days, her hormones have been interrupted and she will being to lay eggs again in two or three weeks.

 

[Chickiepoo87]

I tend to babble sometimes, even through text lol! I had to read my post again and reworded it!! Thank you for the info

 

[rosemarythyme]

when do you decide to do this? And of course why? Also best practices ? Thank you

I always break mine as soon as I determine it's broody behavior - a combination of things like not wanting to leave nest, puffing up, flattening down, growling.

Why: because I don't plan on hatching chicks there's no reason to have a hen sit like this for 3 weeks, not eating and drinking regularly, not spending time in the run regularly, losing weight, pulling out feathers, being grumpy. She'll also stop laying while broody and won't start up again for a few weeks.

Best practice IMO is to lock them away from the nest, whether a wire crate which is the most popular option or some other cage (I use a small covered dog exercise pen), and keep them in there with food and water for a few days. Once they stop showing the behavior noted above, they can come out. It can take as little as 2 days up to 5+ days, depending on how set she is, but it's still faster than waiting for her to come out of it herself.

 

[aart]

Why: because I don't plan on hatching chicks there's no reason to have a hen sit like this for 3 weeks, not eating and drinking regularly, not spending time in the run regularly, losing weight, pulling out feathers, being grumpy. She'll also stop laying while broody and won't start up again for a few weeks.

This^^^

Once you learn it, that broody cluck tells the tale every time, sometimes even before they go to the nest.

This is how I break a broody:
If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience goes about 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 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.
Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.