Broody hen - am I handling this right?

[Thumper51]

to break a broody it's usually off the ground if I remember right, I will tell you she's acting like my persistent broody and that did not work for her, I got her some fertilized eggs and let her do it before persistent killed her as nothing else was working

FYI last night I rigged the broody cage so it is hanging from the roosting poles and she is off the ground. It looks like a Medieval torture cage hanging in the center of the coop lol. I did let her out to free range for a couple hours but blocked off the nesting boxes. Then back to the broody cage at roosting time! Day #2!

 

[slordaz]

good job, sometimes we succeed sometimes we don't with them. I did 3 days, first time 5 days second she continued, and 7 days subsequently, in hind sight would probably just get her some eggs and let her hatch em if she doesn't break after 5 days in broody cage, due to the fact they don't eat as well when broody and then they got 21 days once you give them the eggs to hatch out, you don't want your hen to suffer and go downhill from being broody. When a hen goes broody her boddy temp is up so the idea is to get her cooled down I do believe but maybe one fo the others can explain it better if that isn't correctly put

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I gave mine a cool bath yesterday afternoon for as long as she and my creaky knees would stand it. Was probably close to ten minutes. Then I let her free range by herself until time to let everybody else out, probably a couple of hours, so she couldn't get back to her nest. I have been gone all day and will soon be home to check on her. Fingers crossed, but if she is back on the nest she will get another cool bath and go into a wire dog crate at bed time. In the coop, of course.

 

[Thumper51]

Update: Chicken jail for 3 days did the trick! She's no longer acting broody and my daily egg production is slowly rising. Thanks everyone for sharing your experience, tips, and encouragement with a newbie!

 

[aart]

Update: Chicken jail for 3 days did the trick! She's no longer acting broody and my daily egg production is slowly rising. Thanks everyone for sharing your experience, tips, and encouragement with a newbie!

Congrats!!
She's laying again already....or just removing her reduced stress on the others?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Mine's not broody any more either. I never did give her a second cool bath... when I came home that day, I was just too tired to do it! So I took her off the nest and locked her out of the coop and yard to free range the rest of the day. It had been raining for a couple of days so DH hadn't been able to mow, so she spent all afternoon foraging in cool grass up to her belly. And the next day, she stayed off the nest and hasn't gone back, so yay!

 

[Thumper51]

Congrats!!
She's laying again already....or just removing her reduced stress on the others?

Both I think - she's definitely laying again because she had an egg in "jail" on the last day. And I think she's not emitting whatever hormone goes crazy when they're broody which inhibits the others from laying - and she's not hogging the nesting boxes. So yes & yes!

 

[Thumper51]

Mine's not broody any more either. I never did give her a second cool bath... when I came home that day, I was just too tired to do it! So I took her off the nest and locked her out of the coop and yard to free range the rest of the day. It had been raining for a couple of days so DH hadn't been able to mow, so she spent all afternoon foraging in cool grass up to her belly. And the next day, she stayed off the nest and hasn't gone back, so yay!

Wonderful!

 

[Thumper51]

yeah mine I put in first time she decided to stay in the nest box all day first time 3 days then a week at a time and she still didn't break she spent a month in broody breaker, she forgot to read the book on how to be a chicken, but once she finally hatched eggs out she was fine

Not sure that solution will work for me, I don't have a rooster! But I have heard that if chicken jail doesn't work maybe putting a couple chicks with her will work. But I don't know if that will solve the problem of my decreased egg production from my other girls.

 

[Thumper51]

When I have a broody hen and no fertile eggs, I just take her out of the nesting box every day, a few times a day. She gets mad at me, but then starts foraging for a minute. After about a week she gives up.

Unfortunately a few weeks ago I decided to allow one to be broody and ordered some fertile eggs. Not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to pull the infertile eggs out from under her every day, but doing so broke her broody mood and guess who had to go out and buy an incubator.

Too funny!!!! Maybe if I had realized what was going on in the beginning taking her out each day would have worked, but I did that for a week or so to no avail. Good luck on your new chicks!