broody breaking

[mmclaughlin]

Morning all...
I have my 1st broody chicken a black australop about a year old... very persistent !! shes been sitting about a week I try to deter her by taking her out of the box..extra treats.. free range out of the coop but to no avail she heads right back to the nest with eggs or no eggs under her!! I've heard to separate her to a wire bottom cage for a few days has anyone tried this?? do I leave her in the run or take the cage to the garage for safety??as my coop is secure but not large enough to put the cage in there.she's even plucked her feathers underneath ...I'm sure she would make a great mom LOL!! just no fertile eggs to give her (no rooster zone)
thanks for all your help..I've learned so much on this site
thanks again!!
Michelle

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Wire bottom cage off the ground is tried and true. The object is to cool their bottom - disrupts hormones. About 2 days is all it takes. The longer you wait the longer it takes.

We used to have about 5 cages hanging from the ceiling of the hen house of 100 leghorns. There were always a couple hens in broody jail. Just a little food and water in the cage with them and they're back in business after a couple days.
In a pinch, I've also used ice in the nests.

 

[centrarchid]

Duration of broody jail? My hens seem to take 3 to 4 days to come out out of it and when they are broody they are extremely committed.

 

[CarolinaHen]

I've got the strangest broody hen ever! She only wants to sit on eggs and doesn't want the chicks once they hatch.

She will ignore and peck at the chicks while stealing other hen's eggs to sit on. The only thing that breaks her broodiness is a metal bottom dog crate.

 

[mmclaughlin]

Thanks for the info.. Another thought...a friend offered me some fertile eggs for her to hatch... If she's been broody over a week is it to late to give her eggs to hatch? How do I know the eggs are fertile? How old can the eggs be? Do they need to be "today's" eggs?
I have a large run but my coop is small and I don't know how to seperete the rest from my broody hen. Can they all co exist? And let nature work it's wonders!?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Most of my hens have to wait around a week before they get eggs, because that's how long it takes me to collect a decent amount. Just make sure she's coming off the nest to eat, drink and poop. And that's the magic number for collecting them up, 7 days. They can be a little older, but the fresher, the better.

Some of my girls are fine to be left in the coop with the flock without interference. Others have to be separated because they're push overs or nest hoppers. Its something you sort of figure out as you go. Not all hens are good moms, but they can be good incubators. Others are good incubators and terrible mothers. If you have to separate her, a spare dog crate, large bird cage or even just some chicken wire scraps can all be used to give her her own spot. Its best to separate her off somewhere in the coop so the flock can still see her. That way she's still a member of the flock and you won't have to reintegrate everyone later.

Good luck

 

[mmclaughlin]

Thanks for the info...
I got some "hopefully fertile" eggs from a friends farm!! gave them to my broody girl Peggy.. and now she sits.. all proud she's sitting on something that i'm not always taking away!! hopefully we hatch a few in 3 weeks or so?? everyone's getting along fine so I'll leaver her an see what happens. any other advise? should I check eggs to see if there is "growth' OR JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE??
thanks for all the help 1st time hatching is tough..not knowing anyone who has done this!