Broody Chicken pulling out feathers- Very cold winter

[Natalie783]

So I have a buff orphington chicken that has recently become broody. She is even being broody with no eggs. She has started to pull out her stomach and chest feathers, and I fear she may get too cold at night. I am in NH, and it is gets to about -5 degrees fahrenheit at night. I have a 100 watt lightbulb in there to help her, but I am still a bit worried. How can I stop her? I tried to first take her out of the coop a couple of times, and that did nothing. I then tried to take away the nesting boxes, but she was still broody. I also tried to get her stomach cold, to deter her, but she still persisted. What can I do? Am I just babying her?

 

[Orpingtons43]

It's normal broody behavior I have heard making her cold can stop it but I have never personally done it I just let my broody hens sit on eggs or golfballs

 

[red horse ranch]

She pulls the feathers and down out of her chest and belly to line the nest and so that eggs can be warmed by her skin. Broody hens can be hard to break. During this cold spell I would be tempted to just let her set so that she doesn't get chilled.

 

[aart]

Bare patch created by her plucking is called a broody patch...
...allows eggs to touch her skin to stay warmer.
I am breaking a broody pullet right now, easier yet harder in the cold.

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 with fed and water

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.

Feed and water added after pic was taken.

 

[centrarchid]

Get her to roost up. Mine can close that broody patch within minutes without growing feathers. Think why I might make that assertion.