Broody breaker 101

[mtsaz]

HI I have buff orpington who is really bad. She walks around clucking, and lays in the nest with her feathers all sticking up to (I assume look big and bad). She comes out to eat and drink water, but hustles back to the nest- (No eggs)---She will lay an egg daily but I take it. I dont want babies right now. Its 100+ outside and will get hotter in the coming months. With the heat I cant really leave her in jail- I do have mist system- but its still hot. I thought of letting her sit on a couple golf balls and then getting a couple 1 day old chicks from someone and getting her out of the nest for a minute and exchanging. do you think she will think her eggs hatched and stop this craziness?

 

[Painted Calls]

HI I have buff orpington who is really bad. She walks around clucking, and lays in the nest with her feathers all sticking up to (I assume look big and bad). She comes out to eat and drink water, but hustles back to the nest- (No eggs)---She will lay an egg daily but I take it. I dont want babies right now. Its 100+ outside and will get hotter in the coming months. With the heat I cant really leave her in jail- I do have mist system- but its still hot. I thought of letting her sit on a couple golf balls and then getting a couple 1 day old chicks from someone and getting her out of the nest for a minute and exchanging. do you think she will think her eggs hatched and stop this craziness?

The point of a broody breaker is to cool their body temperature. How would she be too hot? Letting her sit would be hotter.

How long has she been broody? If she is truly broody, she wouldn't be laying eggs.

 

[aart]

How would she be too hot?

Its 100+ outside and will get hotter in the coming months.

Can be hard to break them in hot weather.
This is when dunking in cool water can help....maybe.

 

[Painted Calls]

Can be hard to break them in hot weather.
This is when dunking in cool water can help....maybe.

I understand that. However the alternative was letting her sit - which would be hotter.

 

[Painted Calls]

I'd do broody breaker with water dunks. I have bantam Cochins. They don't tolerate heat well. That's how I break when it's super hot. Sometimes I'll also put a fan on them.

 

[aart]

I'd do broody breaker with water dunks.

I only had to resort to this once, during a heat wave with a serial broody.
I also had to move her breaker crate several times a day to keep her in the shade as it was much too hot in the coop.
Thinks the change of scenery helped as much as the dunking.

 

[chickencoop57]

I usually don't let my hens sit on the nest when they go broody because when they get up to eat, sometimes, they always get on the wrong nest and I have 4- nest box about 2' off the ground. However, I did finally let one sit in my garden run. She has about 6 eggs under her. I had put an old milk crate with some hay in it and that worked well. Its about 100 degree's here but for the most part, she's in the shade. When the sun does hit her, later in the afternoon, I'll get the water hose and spray her a lil bit, to cool her off. So far, so good. That being said, what I usually do when a hen goes broody, I separate her from the main coop and put her somewhere else with a rooster. She usually gets out of her broodiness in about a week. I have a broody one in a big dog pen with 2 roosters that I'm fix to butcher, soon.

 

[Yabadabadoo]

My crates are ~24"L x 18"W x 21"H.
I use 1x2 mesh for bottom.

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(1x2) on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

After 48 hours I let her out of crate very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate for another 48 hours.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor, gives the feet a break from the wire floor and encourages roosting.
View attachment 2975401

Why only wire flooring versus on grass or the ground?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Why only wire flooring versus on grass or the ground?

To let air circulate under the belly, which helps to cool it off, as a broody hen wants to warm the nest with her belly.