Broody Hen - Dog Crate floor?

[bjdewell]

One of my four 3-year-old Black Australorps has been broody for around a month. Each day I removed her 3 or 4 times from the egg box to free-range in the backyard. She’d stay out for a while, then was back in an egg box again. It was disrupting the other three, then some of the hens started laying eggs on the the coop floor instead of in an egg box. I blocked the egg boxes at night so she would perch. She did at first, then just slept on the floor in front of the boxes.

She had also gotten aggressive, biting me a couple of times when I was moving her out of the egg box. Once was hard enough to tear off the skin. Three days ago I finally moved her into the house to a large dog crate with food, water, and a perch to try to break the broodiness. The crate has a wire floor with wide gaps, which worried me the first day and night. I've read standing on wire like that can cause bumblefoot and other foot issues. So on the second day I added the plastic floor insert for comfort and safety. She seems more at ease now and is eating, drinking, preening and pooping normally — just still puffing up when I approach. She doesn't seem unhappy, but pecks hard at her food, and strews it all over her floor, and paces when dusk is nearing.

Is it okay to leave the plastic floor in for the rest of her time in the crate, or do I risk interfering with the broody-breaking process? I hated to have to put her in a crate. She's in the house because we are having horrendous winds/dust/sand storms right now, and I don't want her outside in the crate. Does everything I'm doing seem and look okay?

 

[K0k0shka]

The plastic floor is definitely better than the wire in terms of potential bumblefoot risk. What I have done in the past is put a sheet of chicken wire on top of the wire bottom of the cage, making sure there are no sharp ends that she can step on (especially around the perimeter). That way her weight is distributed more evenly and the wire isn't digging into her feet as much as with the wide gaps, where she's standing on just one or two wires.

What I have also done is made an outdoor broody jail. That's actually what I use most frequently, because it's less frustrating for the hen. I sectioned off part of the run with tall chicken wire, hosed down the ground until it's wet everywhere (I have wood chips and dry leaves for bedding so there's no mud or puddles, it just gets damp). I made sure she had a perch in there, and put her in that enclosure with food and water. She's free to walk around and stretch her legs (which helps break the broodiness), and since everything is wet and she won't sit and brood on wet ground, she's forced to stay up or perch. This has been very effective for me, and the hen has been a lot less frustrated. The main downside of this is that you still have to bring her in at bedtime, and take her back out in the morning. So I'll have her sleep in the crate jail, and just take her out during the day, re-hosing the ground every morning.

 

[RojoMarz]

I use the same type wire kennel. The plastic pan is missing, so I put several 2x4's in the bottom. They cover lots of the wire and give a place for the hen to walk and roost on. My kennel is also elevated so there is good air flow from the bottom.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Bumblefoot is an infection. She gets a cut or splinter in her foot which gets infected.

Carefully rub your hand on that wire. Is something going to cut her foot? That way you can determine the risk of that wire floor causing bumblefoot. As you may guess, I do not put any covering on the wire floor.

I don't know if blocking the air flow to her underside will affect breaking her from being broody or not. You can certainly try it.