Broody Cochin

[sdchickgirl]

My nine month old frizzle Cochin recently started brooding in the last couple weeks. She started about four weeks ago and was sitting on her own eggs at first, but stopped laying after about a week. So I haven't gotten eggs in three weeks!! But I'm mostly worried because she's definitely lost weight, and I know that they're build to do that but I've never had a broody hen before. I don't have a rooster either, so she just sits on the fake eggs all day and all night.

I tried to take her fake egg away but then she just moved to the other nesting boxes that had fake eggs or my other girls' eggs. Taking all the fake eggs out completely didn't work either, because then she'd just sit on the nesting, and one of my other girls stopped laying because she likes the fake ones.

(although she started laying again when I put them back) So I'm not really sure what to do. I have to take her out of the box throughout the day to make sure she eats and drinks because she is so dedicated I'm finding that she won't do it on her own. It's so frustrating! And scary! Does anyone know how to break this habit? She'll brood almost anywhere, so isolating her from the nesting area won't do anything. Do I just have to wait? What if she doesn't come out of this?

 

[JetCat]

get some local fertile eggs and let her be a mommy or put her in a dog kennel with a wire bottom, suspended off the floor of the coop so air is under her, give her feed and water in the kennel and after 3 days you can let her out and see if she returns to the nest. this usually works, sometimes you have to put her back in and try again the next day, sometimes ever a few extra days but they get broke.

one of my 10 month old Cochin bantams just hatched her chicks Christmas Eve, i let her stay with the chicks till Wednesday of this week, put her back in with the others of her flock, she started laying again Friday morning.

 

[Pork Pie]

Just my opinion but breaking her broodiness may be the better option since she's already lost weight / condition. She'll be broody again before you can say Jack Robinson, so don't worry about having to wait an age.

All the best
Ct

 

[appps]

Have you actually locked her out in the yard? Brooding anywhere isn't really the same as in the nest. I've had my silkie locked off the nest for 3 days and she mostly sat on the ground looking broody but after 3 days locked away from the nesting box she still wasn't broody anymore.

You will never break her if she has any access to your nesting area. You need to keep her off all the nests 24 hours a day, so no sleeping on a nest either. I just fence mine off at the end of our run with a bit of plastic wire and some tomato stakes then around 4pm I lock the nest box and let her back with everyone else.

This was our frizzle earlier in the year, she was a pacer for her 3 days, the silkie was more of a sitter. Both were over it after 3 days though if particularly determined it can take a day or 2 more.
You just need to be more determined than her and keep her off 24 hours a day.

If she has already sat over a month and to top it off its winter there you are much better off breaking her than hatching eggs. She will always go broody again.