Breaking broody hens?

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Ok so I recently put my Brahma chicks who are now 12-13 weeks old with my laying girls they have been with them now together as a flock for 2 weeks and in that time my Cheshire blue (smallish blue egg layer,) has gone flipping broody she has plucked out chest feathers and won't remove herself from the nesting box (we have 2 and they are stacked on above the other and most of the girls prefer the bottom) my issue is none of my girls stay in the nesting box once they are done but they will try to stuff themselves in (3 in one 14*14*14 roughly nest box... Quite funny really but besides the point).

How can I break her from being broody? It would not be too bad if she would have done this idk 12-14 weeks ago but I ain't buying hatching eggs.. I do have some 3-4 week old chicks but I doubt that I could stuff then under her and she would be cool with it.

 

[azygous]

Hens are broody because of broody hormones, so you need to interrupt the flow of hormones. To do that you need to lower their body temperature. To do that you need to deprive them of access to the nest box or anyplace where they can hunker down and conserve their hot underparts.

To do that we who have been through this lots have a cage with a mesh bottom we put them in so air can circulate underneath, cooling their underparts. Food and water are place in the cage, and we let the broody out maybe once or twice a day, under supervision, to poop and dirt bathe. She is in the cage all day and all night.

In about three days, she's broken. You will know when she doesn't go directly back onto a nest when released.

 

[aart]

azygous laid it all out nicely...I'll just add pics:
First pic taken before feed and water installed.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Ok so a small dog crate will work great will go buy one this weekend..

Has anyone tried putting 4-6 week old chicks under a broody?

 

[aart]

Has anyone tried putting 4-6 week old chicks under a broody?

Not likely to succeed, chicks way too old to bond with a hen, at 4-6 weeks they are beyond needing the warmth and the hen would likely treat them as DangerStrangers and attack them.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

So in other words slim to none she will take them dash it all. Oh well going to go buy a cage tomorrow would it be ok to have her in the house while I brake her of the broodiness? As we don't have a huge coop or a garage for that matter but we do have a cool/ cold bathroom that I think would be cold enough to break her but warm enough that she won't freeze.

 

[aart]

Oh well going to go buy a cage tomorrow would it be ok to have her in the house while I brake her of the broodiness?

It's best to break her within sight of the flock or you'll have to reintegrate her, which will also take side by side within sight separation and may take longer than breaking her would.

She doesn't need to be 'cold', just unable to nestle down in any bedding, thus the wire mesh bottom of crate raised off the ground/floor.