Brooding hen

[joroster]

What do i do with a brooding hen that i dont want to hatch out eggs. As it is i dont have a rooster anyway...but i cant have any more chickens.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Many of us face this problem on a regular basis.

Most of us will use a wire bottom cage to keep the broody hen in. With no bedding. Like a dog kennel or a milk crate. That way she can't get comfortable and make a nice place to hatch eggs. Some people just block their nests off but that displaces all of my other layers. Placing the kennel in a well lit and highly trafficked area should help break her sooner. It is individual though, and no two may ever be exactly the same as to how many days it will take. Some have broken within one day of breaker placement. While others have persisted close to 10 days.

One thing I can tell you is that letting them "break" naturally is a bad idea... as it often takes WAY too long. First one I tried like that took more than 35 days before I decided her condition was fading for too long and intervention was needed, leading to the purchase of the dog kennel.

If I do have space for chicks, it is VERY easy to adopt young feed store chicks to a broody. But you already stated that was not in your best interest.

Good luck!

 

[Shelray]

I am having the same problem with a Game Hen that was given to us. When we got her she had 5 chicks about 2-3 weeks of age. About a month ago she got broody and I had to separate her into a cage. She broke in about 4 days, but it took over 2 weeks for her to start laying again. She seems to be back doing the same thing. She isn't even sitting on an egg, just sitting in the nest box. I removed her again this morning and placed her into a cage again, but am I doing something wrong that she has become brooding again in such a short period. She is usually kept in a larger area with her 5 chicks( 3 hens and 2 roosters- as big as she is now but not laying yet) does that have something to do with it?

Any advice will be appreciated. It makes me sad to see her that way.
Thanks

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I am having the same problem with a Game Hen that was given to us. When we got her she had 5 chicks about 2-3 weeks of age. About a month ago she got broody and I had to separate her into a cage. She broke in about 4 days, but it took over 2 weeks for her to start laying again. She seems to be back doing the same thing. She isn't even sitting on an egg, just sitting in the nest box. I removed her again this morning and placed her into a cage again, but am I doing something wrong that she has become brooding again in such a short period. She is usually kept in a larger area with her 5 chicks( 3 hens and 2 roosters- as big as she is now but not laying yet) does that have something to do with it?

Any advice will be appreciated. It makes me sad to see her that way.
Thanks

Hi, welcome to BYC!
Welcome to the frustrated "my hen is too broody" club (just made that up)!

It sounds to me like you are doing NOTHING wrong. Chances are the person you got her from got rid of her BECAUSE she was overly broody. It always takes my girls about 2 weeks to start laying again. And some of them will try to go broody after laying their 2nd or 3 rd egg, even after just raising a clutch. And it will continue even with NO eggs under them. And I am totally going to eliminate (with full disclosure to someone in need) some of my over broody hens from my flock because I hate seeing them in the breaker, plus it's a bummer to not get eggs EVER! Game hens as well as Silkies are known for broodyness. Also, a few other breeds.

My original goal was to have broody's hatch and raise all my chicks, which I didn't think was a possibility. Now I KNOW it is an actual reality! Both a blessing and a curse.