Brooding?

[mcurry47]

I have a 22 week old Java who has been laying for three weeks. Today she did not leave the nesting box and did not like me moving her to get the egg. What is up?

 

[drunkdog]

she may be ...see if it continues tomorrow...

 

[PunkinPeep]

If they stay in all day and all night for a couple of days, then i can usually know they really mean it.

 

[mcurry47]

How can I break her of it? She did not leave it today and no egg.

 

[peterlund]

Got two broody girls myself right now.... I just pick up there behinds and grab the eggs that the other hens lay in the nest boxes... I assume the girls will get over it soon... If there is a way to break them of the natural instinct, I am all ears!

 

[PunkinPeep]

There are a couple of methods. Some girls are more stubborn than others.

I have used two methods (though most of the time, i just let them set a clutch of eggs).

1. Placing them alone in a wire bottom cage where the bottom of the cage has air flow. You do this with no bedding, just food and water. That method broke one of my girls in just 24 hours. Some people use this method in a dog carrier or something similar. There's no airflow underneath, but she also isn't provided with bedding of any kind. Also, i've read where folks have had to use this method for quite a bit more than 24 hours (several days and nights) before the hen gave up.

2. Dunking in water. I don't really recommend this if it's very cold where you are. But repeated dunking, several times a day in a bucket of cool water can help cool them off (please keep the head above water; this isn't water torture). You want to make sure that you get their bellies fully wet. I did this with one girl every time she went back to the nest for a couple of days, and it worked. Another girl wasn't hearing it and went on brooding pine shavings.

Just one word of warning, my broody-prone girls never tried to hide their eggs from me until after i tried to break them of being broody.

 

[kano]

Quote:
I'm agree. The first one is the best.