Broody and may die ?

[Lil_Chickadee]

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LOL, that's adorable. I guess the hen was willing to share.

 

[PortageGirl]

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Problem? ...yes and no. Once she does let them out of the nest, they can hop down from quite a ways safely, (a surprisingly height really and 20 inches isn’t bad) she’ll get out and cluck like crazy till they follow her, they just won't be able to get back up that high, though she might try to get them up there, then probably give up and find a quiet corner on the floor somewhere to huddle up with them.

That first drop though, they are so fluffy and light, they sort of just bounce right out no problem. You could have a second 'nest' area ready for them after they get down, a box or maybe the bottom of a pet crate on the floor in a safe sort of 'corner' after she gets em out, with sides low to keep nesting material in to some extent.

 

[pascopol]

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If I have unwanted broodie I dip her few times in water (not to cold - for her safety) about 60 to 70 deg), then put her in wire cage. Sometimes it will take few times to repeat this "operation" in next day or two.

Always worked for me.

Speaking about "buying her a chick", I doubt if any hen will accept/adopt a chick before hatching her eggs, giving her extra chicks after she hatches her batch is another story.

 

[Lesa]

I am having the same problem with one of my RIR's. She was really nasty when it first started, now she is sweet, but does nothing but stay in the nest. I keep taking eggs away from her and forcing her out of the box- but she hops right back in. Yesterday, I took out a bowl of yogurt mixed with BOSS and stood there holding the dish so she could eat it...Then I was worried since she wasn't going outside she might not have enough grit. Ahhh! How long before she gets over this naturally??

 

[enola]

pascopol has the right idea, the hen must be removed completely from the nest. Putting her in a wire cage gives her very little privacy and nothing to make a nest out of. If she is taken from the nest she has chosen, and put in a box or crate where she has privacy and darkness, she will probably just decide that the place you chose is just as good and keep right on brooding.

Make sure she has food and water and light, no nest and she will change her mind.

At least for a LITTLE while

 

[JennsPeeps]

I've heard of dunking a broody's legs in cold water, too. Something about a temp change that will indicate to her hormones that it has gotten too cold for hatching the eggs.

 

[CityClucks]

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I like AngieChick's idea, if you have room for more clucks.

 

[ibpboo]

I've had problems with hens going broody, too. It use to drive me crazy, thinking they were going to die if they just sat forever. I would remove the eggs, dunk in cold water, remove hen from nest etc. nothing ever worked. Now, I have two that go broody often. I just let them sit and after about three months, they give up for awhile, then go back to being broody.
I did buy one chicks a couple times. I would let her sit for a couple weeks, then chase her off the nest, take the eggs, crack one or two, leave the broken shells, and then put the babies there for her to find when she came back. Worked every time!
A couple other times, I got fertilized eggs from a friend, and let her hatch them, she loved being a mama.

 

[dancingbear]

If she's already lost a lot of weight, it would be dangerous to allow her to continue. The wire cage method works well. I wouldn't dunk a hen in water in cold weather, especially one that's in an emaciated condition. I tried that with one of mine (in the summer) and it didn't work anyway. The only result of that is she won't let me pick her up anymore. But isolating her in an area with no nests, no dark corners, nothing but bare ground, food, water, and a roosting pole, worked great. She went back to normal in about 2-3 days.

A note of caution for anybody with both ducks and chickens: If your ducks have access to water for swimming, please don't let them hatch eggs from non-aquatic birds. Almost the first thing they do is teach them to swim...

You could have a frantic, heart-broken duck, and a clutch of dead chicks.

 

[AngieChick]

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I can tell you that a broody hen can be tricked. A friend of mine had a broody silkie and I had some 3 week old standard chicks (yep, they were already 3 weeks old). One of them was a complete brat, so we decided to give it over to her silkie and see what happened. She snuck the chick under her bird at night, and in the morning that silkie was so proud and puffed up about her "baby". She raised her up as if she was her own, both chickens were happy as can be. I'm not saying this will always work, but that it has and can.

To OP - I agree that if she is already at a lower bodyweight that trying to break her of it would be better than having her start from scratch with some fertilized eggs. It could prove too much for her.