Broody hen gone broodier in broody jail! Oy.

[Painted Calls]

THE SAGA OF ZIPPY CONTINUES!

Zippy is back in the plastic crate. But wait. Don't get mad at me yet.

If you're anywhere near New Orleans right now, you know that it is storming like judgment day over here...rain's coming in sideways like when Forrest Gump is in Vietnam. I had a cover over Zippy's wire kennel, and the whole thing in the shelter of the fig tree, but the rain is so heavy and the winds so serious that she was still getting drenched. So I go out there and try to bring the wire kennel inside, but it's too heavy for me. But you know what isn't too heavy for me to move by myself? That's right. The damn plastic crate!!

So I brought her inside and snuggled her in a towel to dry her off a bit, and set her back up in the crate, this time with no pine chips. This could potentially set her broodiness problem back a few days, but I guess I'd rather that than have her drown or get hypothermia.

@aart I can't tell you how much linguistic joy the etiology of this phrase brings me. Love it!

Please see below: pictures of Zippy and me, both mad as wet hens.
The last picture is from this morning. LOOK HOW PUFFY. For the sake of comparison, the other hen there is Ladybird, who is about her same size normally. Let me tell you. Zippy was NOT having it. She's less puffy now, but that may be because she is soaked to the bone.

Oh the adventures of chickening!

Edited: grammar error

Love it!

 

[Chkntender]

I have one chicken, buff Orpington that is broody quite a bit. I just take them out of their nesting box a few times a day for usually 3 days or so and they stop brooding. Has worked well so far. But my chickens don’t peck at me even if they are upset. Might need some heavy gloves if you are going to do this.

 

[Daniellebell1]

@Chkntender , I'm glad you piped in, because I had forgotten to finish the saga! Also, do you think there's something about buffs that makes them broodier than others? Zippy is a Buff Rock, and she's my only hen that goes broody.
Also, the other 3 chickens only nip at me when they're going for treats and miss (which happens more than one might hope.) But Zippy...she's a bitey gal! She explores the whole world with her whole face. Heavy gloves are seriously not a bad idea for next time she goes broody. And yes. There will be a next time. I can just feel it.

The end to the saga came a little too quickly to deserve the word "saga." Because of a week of torrential rain, we kept Zippy in the house in the plastic travel kennel for about two and a half days. I think the temperature difference in our house (with the A/C) was enough to cool her down, even without the wire flooring. I let her back outside to see if she would immediately run to the nesting spot, and she didn't (hooray!) However, on the unfortunate side, she lost her place as top of the pecking order. Ladybird Johnson, who had previously been second-in-command, has taken over, and immediately started bullying Zippy. RUDE. (I mean, rude, yes, but also completely predictable.) Luckily the bullying only lasted for the afternoon. Zippy's not the queen anymore, but she's back in the flock with no trouble. Ladybird is a pretty laid-back head honcho.

So...a short saga, but a ridiculous one nonetheless.

 

[Chkntender]

@Chkntender , I'm glad you piped in, because I had forgotten to finish the saga! Also, do you think there's something about buffs that makes them broodier than others? Zippy is a Buff Rock, and she's my only hen that goes broody.
Also, the other 3 chickens only nip at me when they're going for treats and miss (which happens more than one might hope.) But Zippy...she's a bitey gal! She explores the whole world with her whole face. Heavy gloves are seriously not a bad idea for next time she goes broody. And yes. There will be a next time. I can just feel it.

The end to the saga came a little too quickly to deserve the word "saga." Because of a week of torrential rain, we kept Zippy in the house in the plastic travel kennel for about two and a half days. I think the temperature difference in our house (with the A/C) was enough to cool her down, even without the wire flooring. I let her back outside to see if she would immediately run to the nesting spot, and she didn't (hooray!) However, on the unfortunate side, she lost her place as top of the pecking order. Ladybird Johnson, who had previously been second-in-command, has taken over, and immediately started bullying Zippy. RUDE. (I mean, rude, yes, but also completely predictable.) Luckily the bullying only lasted for the afternoon. Zippy's not the queen anymore, but she's back in the flock with no trouble. Ladybird is a pretty laid-back head honcho.

So...a short saga, but a ridiculous one nonetheless.

From what I’ve read about Orpingtons in general is that they tend to be a broodier breed of chicken. They are great if you want to raise chicks but a little more work if you don’t. But overall they are usually friendly and great layer. The buff Orpington is called the golden retriever of chickens because they are such a great breed. Good luck with your chickens!

 

[Kellow1]

I have a broody hen. She will leave the nesting box to get food, water and stretch her legs. Other than inconveniencing the other hens that prefer that particular box, I don't see any point to break her broodiness.

Broody hens have been known to die sitting on a nest if they are not hatching babies. Not good to let them sit and not break them. Broody hens do NOT lay eggs either.

 

[Chkntender]

Good to know about the broody girls! I know sometimes my one I will go get if I haven’t seen her out in 2 days or so. I will watch more closely. Thank you for the info!

 

[yakitori]

I finally managed to break mine, and it only took 2 days in the broody cage!

At first I block her from going in the nesting box for an entire month with no results.

I thought she would break her broodieness eventually because she only wanted to sit in that one nest. but no... every morning she’d jump from the roost clucking timer going off and looking for her nesting box. Eventually after an entire month of this fiasco, she got too skinny and i said enough was enough, in the crate she went.

I didn’t stay around to watch whether she got mad... gave her some scrambled eggs and water in the morning, and came back in the afternoon to let her out with the rest. I was thrilled when she started getting her regular whiny voice back by the end of day 1!

Still shocked it only took 2 days!

 

[The Witch Coop]

I also have a broody hen (Blue-laced Wyandotte), and have put her in chicken jail. Can they have a perch to sit on? I don't have a wire bottom cage--and would rather not buy one if I don't have to. I have her in a dog kennel, but covered the floor in one sheet of smooth cardboard, and put a perch in it, and she is sitting on the perch. It seems like that would get her good airflow. (The wire for days on their feet seems rough.) Will this work?

 

[The Witch Coop]

Nevermind! Apparently it worked, because I just let her out at dusk, and she went right into the coop, and up on the roost with her buddies, NOT into the nesting box, yay!

May have to do it again tomorrow, but it's progress!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I also have a broody hen (Blue-laced Wyandotte), and have put her in chicken jail. Can they have a perch to sit on? I don't have a wire bottom cage--and would rather not buy one if I don't have to. I have her in a dog kennel, but covered the floor in one sheet of smooth cardboard, and put a perch in it, and she is sitting on the perch. It seems like that would get her good airflow. (The wire for days on their feet seems rough.) Will this work?

Yes a perch is fine as long as she's not trying to brood ON the perch.

I also don't have a wire bottom cage but I break my broodies very promptly, and I keep them in there until they're broken, so it's worked for me.