BROODY FOR 2 MONTHS NOW???

[chickie<3]

One of my 5 chickens went broody and sits in her nesting box all day FOR 2 MONTHS NOW. We had another one go broody and followed the normal 3 week cycle. She doesnt look healthy..her waddle looks very pale. What do i do?

 

[Judy]

They can stay broody for several months, even die eventually.

Whenever I have a broody, I set her out of the nest at least once a day and make her get moving, just in case, to increase her nutrition and hydration. If she's getting sick you need to get her off the nest. It might work just to close the nest off. The classic way to break them is put them on a stone or concrete floor with no bedding, or put her in a dog crate with a wire bottom and set it on something like concrete blocks so there is air movement under her, again with no bedding. Provide food and water, of course.

We recently set up a coop, nests etc. in the garden so they can live in there for a few months and eat all those bugs and bug stung veggies. Just moving them there broke two broodies, one of whom had been setting for at least 2 months.

 

[chkn]

It's not good to allow that to continue. You'll have to get her out in some sunshine (not direct unless it's cool). Put her somewhere where she can't go into coop for a day or two (except at bedtime).

 

[Sally8]

Hi, I agree with the above comments. We had a Barred Rock go broody earlier this spring. She sat so long she lost all her feathers on the bottom of where she sat. We worried so much about her and the funny thing was, she would peck holes in all the eggs under her. Finally, at least twice a day, my husband and I would carry her off the nest and take her way out in the yard where they all liked to dust in my beautiful flower garden. After about 2 weeks of this, she just stayed off. I had heard to put her in a bucket of cold water but never did. I have a picture of someone who put their hen in the swimming pool. It's such a neat picture. She has been off 6 wks or so, but sadly today she died. I have been treating them for mites and I believe that was the cause of her death. Not the treatment but because I wasn't aggressive enough. Good luck to you. She sat on her nest for over 2 mo before we intervened.