Broody flock

[georgie123]

Hello,
I've got six hens, two are almost at point of lay and the other four had been consistently laying for over a year. As of last September my first hen went broody and she sat for over a month, since that time I've always had at least two hens brooding and up to 3 brooding at a time, resulting in hardly any eggs for over six months. I've tried moving them to brooding boxes, constantly removing from nesting boxes, dipping them in water, moved their coop and run to anew position, tried surrogacy (the pullets nearly at point of lay, they were rejected and are finally almost integrated into the flock, however it seems the pecking order needs to be re-established every time a hen snaps out of broodiness).

One of the hens that has been broody the most times will not leave the nesting box for food and water while brooding so she has to be removed a couple of times a day. It's created all sorts of problems from a terrible infestation of red poultry mites on our property that got into our house, leg mites, eggs being laid in the yard as the broody hens become aggressive and won't let flock mates into lay, attracting predators (goanna's & snakes) and feather pecking.
I have no idea what to do to end this cycle of broodiness as soon as a position opens up in the coop it's immediately taken by another.
Anybody have any ideas how to stop contagious brooding? I have four Bantam Pekins, 1 Pekin x Wyandotte & 1 Pekin x Plymouth Rock

 

[Cassandra Lana]

i thought pekins were ducks . If there is a chicken breed pls post a pic I wanna seeeeee .ok now that’s done , there is a certain kind of nesting box that you should try ... it has a slanted floor and a compartment/flap at the bottom. This stoppes the bird from getting to her eggs because they roll into the compartment/ under the flap . I have read it can help with broodiness . Good Luck ~ Cassie

 

[georgie123]

i thought pekins were ducks . If there is a chicken breed pls post a pic I wanna seeeeee .ok now that’s done , there is a certain kind of nesting box that you should try ... it has a slanted floor and a compartment/flap at the bottom. This stoppes the bird from getting to her eggs because they roll into the compartment/ under the flap . I have read it can help with broodiness . Good Luck ~ Cassie

Thanks so much I’ll do some research and try and get my hands on one
Have attached some photos of my Pekins, I have 2 x lavender, 1 x silver laced partridge and 1 x gold laced partridge Pekin (they all have really fluffy feet but it’s a wet day so a little muddy )

 

[rosemarythyme]

Not entirely sure if by "brooding box" you mean moving them to a broody breaker cage?

I would cage them immediately upon showing sign of broodiness, and they do not come back out until they no longer show signs of broodiness.

 

[JaeG]

Pekins are bantam cochins for those that live in the USA. Unfortunately pekin bantams are exceptionally broody and would rather hatch babies than lay eggs most of the time. If that isn't what you want then you might have to consider changing to a less broody breed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting. I didn't know they had to be bantam to be considered Peking. Here in the US we call them Cochin and they can be bantam or full sized.

Broodiness is an inherited behavior. I purposely bred broodiness into my flock and ran into your problem, they started going broody so often I sometimes had a problem with my small flock of getting enough eggs to set under one. Out of seven hens I'd sometimes have three in my broody buster at the same time. I like my broody hens but be careful what you ask for.

The only way I know to break the cycle is to get hens that aren't programed to go broody.

 

[JaeG]

Interesting. I didn't know they had to be bantam to be considered Peking. Here in the US we call them Cochin and they can be bantam or full sized.

Broodiness is an inherited behavior. I purposely bred broodiness into my flock and ran into your problem, they started going broody so often I sometimes had a problem with my small flock of getting enough eggs to set under one. Out of seven hens I'd sometimes have three in my broody buster at the same time. I like my broody hens but be careful what you ask for.

The only way I know to break the cycle is to get hens that aren't programed to go broody.

There seems to be a lot of debate around whether bantam cochins and bantam pekins are the same breed. In England they are considered a bantam that has no larger counterpart.

But I found an article that looked in-depth at their history, based on writings from fanciers and it would seem that large cochins (smaller than average ones) as well as other bantam breeds were actually used to improve the first imported bantam cochins/pekins, and that there was collaboration between breeders in England and America.

 

[georgie123]

Not entirely sure if by "brooding box" you mean moving them to a broody breaker cage?

I would cage them immediately upon showing sign of broodiness, and they do not come back out until they no longer show signs of broodiness.

Thanks yes been using a cage and have had it raised but lined the bottom with a piece of ply

Interesting. I didn't know they had to be bantam to be considered Peking. Here in the US we call them Cochin and they can be bantam or full sized.

Broodiness is an inherited behavior. I purposely bred broodiness into my flock and ran into your problem, they started going broody so often I sometimes had a problem with my small flock of getting enough eggs to set under one. Out of seven hens I'd sometimes have three in my broody buster at the same time. I like my broody hens but be careful what you ask for.

The only way I know to break the cycle is to get hens that aren't programed to go broody.

Thankyou Also I didn't know a Pekin was a bantam Cochin!
I have struggled finding quality information about the broody habits of Pekins and had always been told it was odd behavior as there are many other broodier breeds (Orps, Cochins (haha), Brahmas). Thanks everyone for the information. With this in mind I may have to consider getting a larger coop and try again expanding my flock by introducing day olds to the lavender Pekins and eventually partridge Pekins, hopefully we can utilize their broodiness. My 2 x Pekin X are very broody but aggressive and unfit surrogates (I previously tried introducing chicks to these hens). Hopefully we can enjoy our hens in a different way now,
Much appreciated

 

[sourland]

The pekin/cochin DNA guarantees chronic broodiness. The only cure is to get birds with non broody DNA.

 

[RhondaWW]

Thanks yes been using a cage and have had it raised but lined the bottom with a piece of ply

Thankyou Also I didn't know a Pekin was a bantam Cochin!
I have struggled finding quality information about the broody habits of Pekins and had always been told it was odd behavior as there are many other broodier breeds (Orps, Cochins (haha), Brahmas). Thanks everyone for the information. With this in mind I may have to consider getting a larger coop and try again expanding my flock by introducing day olds to the lavender Pekins and eventually partridge Pekins, hopefully we can utilize their broodiness. My 2 x Pekin X are very broody but aggressive and unfit surrogates (I previously tried introducing chicks to these hens). Hopefully we can enjoy our hens in a different way now,
Much appreciated

Know that you aren't alone. My 4 Pekins/cochins are finally all laying eggs but my girl who was the first layer has now gone broody om me and I have to force her off her nest so she will eat and drink. Within a minute she's back laying on an empty nest!! Very frustrating.