Broody buster

[vweers]

I have tried everything I have read to break my two broody birds. So we have made a broody buster. My question, is do you leave them there overnight too or put them on the roosts and then pull them out in the morning?

 

[Ravynscroft]

You leave them in there for a couple days or so, just make sure she has access to food and water... it won't hurt her to be confined for a few days...

 

[gator75]

So don't let them out for free range time with the others?

 

[aart]

So don't let them out for free range time with the others?

I let mine out, but put them right back in cage if they go to nest....if you've got time for that.

My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop and I would feed her some crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day(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.
Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I let my broody free range all day then put her in the cage at night. Of course I had to keep the run closed and I had to run out there about six times letting other chickens in and out. Luckily it only lasted for two days. All that after I let her try to 'work it out herself' . Two months later after her losing a lot of weight she broke after two days in the chicken jail. I'm a total believer of the cage now. Although I also use a 4x4 inside the cage as a roost for her.

 

[donrae]

IMO, if a hen is out ranging with the flock, she's not broody to the point of needing to be in a cage. The two are opposites.

If you have the time, it's okay to let her out for a while and see how she does. But, it doesn't hurt her at all to be confined for the 3-5 days it usually takes.

 

[gator75]

Well, I lost my first hen today. Peppa was in the broody buster and standing up and seemed to be breaking around lunch. I intended to let her rejoin this evening. I got home to check on them and she was expired in the broody buster. She spilled her food and water bowls over and I am guessing died from the heat.

She had shade but it's in the 90s here. Dang it. I feel horrible.

She hadn't eaten much in about 2 days but looked a little better than ok.

Lesson to others, if you use a BB in the summer be sure your water and food source is secured and fastened. I watched her drink out of it multiple times and her spilling it never crossed my mind. From now on, I will only purchase non broody breeds. I won't go through all that again.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Well, I lost my first hen today. Peppa was in the broody buster and standing up and seemed to be breaking around lunch. I intended to let her rejoin this evening. I got home to check on them and she was expired in the broody buster. She spilled her food and water bowls over and I am guessing died from the heat.

She had shade but it's in the 90s here. Dang it. I feel horrible.

She hadn't eaten much in about 2 days but looked a little better than ok.

Lesson to others, if you use a BB in the summer be sure your water and food source is secured and fastened. I watched her drink out of it multiple times and her spilling it never crossed my mind. From now on, I will only purchase non broody breeds. I won't go through all that again.

I'm so sorry that you didn't get back in time. I think that the hardest thing is losing a chicken when you think you could have prevented it. There could be a thread on BYC that deals with that subject. We can't prevent all of the mishaps, and we learn as we go along.