Brooding hen

[Patchworkacres2020]

How do I stop a hen from brooding?? I’ve removed from the nest 2 twice a day for 2 days. Put her in the roosting rack with all the other chickens at night. Blocked her chosen nest. But she keeps on getting in another nest. She’s not sitting in any eggs she looked to feel ok. Since she started this my egg count has went down 2 eggs a day.

 

[mendozer]

After that you can put her in a wire floor cage with food and water and let her get uncomfortable. However, I have one in the cage now for what's now day 4 or 5. This is her 2nd time being broody and I can't break it. She's completely bald on her abdomen, committed to egglaying, but there are no eggs with her! I'm curious if there are next steps to take. Or maybe bite the bullet and let her just hatch some

 

[mendozer]

I just decided that she's set on brooding, so I gave her two eggs to sit on and just get it over with. I'll remove others as it goes on. I figure two more chickens to the flock isn't the worst idea

 

[ChickNanny13]

When using the "broody jail" make sure you remove the tray & suspend/elevate so as there's air circulation under the cage. The sooner you put her in BJ the better. Or you can do as @mendozer did, add some fertile eggs. That can be tricky too, how long has she been broody & the age of the eggs. Some breeds are broodier than others.

 

[mendozer]

she's an australorp and the eggs I gave her were laid today. We have one roo so I can assume all the hens are "fertile"

 

[aart]

How do I stop a hen from brooding?? I’ve removed from the nest 2 twice a day for 2 days. Put her in the roosting rack with all the other chickens at night. Blocked her chosen nest. But she keeps on getting in another nest. She’s not sitting in any eggs she looked to feel ok. Since she started this my egg count has went down 2 eggs a day.

@Patchworkacres2020
If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) 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.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.