Broody Hen - Help!

[GillespieTribe]

My Buff Orpington had been broody for almost three weeks now! I have tried the ice cube method, to no avail. I don't have a brooding box because we aren't raising chicks at all - we don't have a rooster, so I can't stick a fan under her easily. Any thoughts? Should I ice cubes under her more often? I have been doing it just once a day when I collect eggs, but when I was reading about it, it wasn't clear how often to stick the ice cubes under her. I really wish Ii could just stick an egg under her to hatch and get it over with, but at this time of year I wouldn't know how to get one. Any thoughts? What can I do?

 

[fishnet1971]

had that happen to me in December last year to my Cochin. Nice timing Princess...lol... I just kept taking her off the nest and plopping her butt outside. time after time after time..... tried a frozen water bottle under her, but i felt so bad, she just sat on it and froze herself!!!!! it took her a full 30 days to finally give up. I did make sure she had water and food next to her at all times. Guess i just waited it out.
Good luck!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I have heard of people using a wire bottom cage but I have never tried it so I am not sure how it works. I believe there is a thread about it on here somewhere though. I just give my cochin a fake egg and wait it out. It is usually around 3 weeks but sometimes 4.

 

[Judy]

I just lift them out of their nest whenever I'm in the coop and prod them til they get some exercise and something to eat -- and wait it out. I remove any eggs or golf balls -- though I haven't seen that it makes any difference to them.

 

[7 Biddies]

I just had a thread about my broody BLRW bantam, Olivia. I finally handled it this way:

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I tried putting her outside in their tractor to break her but, since I work and only have weekends off, I couldn't be consistent about it. So, I gave up. Instead, when I get home in the evening, I take her out of the nest box and put her in the run so she can eat and drink. For the first 2 - 3 days, I closed the pop door so she couldn't get back in right away. But, now I set her down in the run and she goes right for the food, eating hungrily. She eats, drinks, scratches, poops, and pecks for about 30 minutes, then returns to the nest.

It's getting close to 3 weeks, so I hope she gets back to normal soon. In the meantime, I think she's happier and healthier this way. I really don't like to mess with Mother Nature too much, but didn't want her to starve, either. So, I'm content with this solution. If I get one less egg per day, it really doesn't matter. It's just me and I can't eat them all *now*! So, I end up just giving fewer away.

 

[cheri87]

I've had this intermittent problem with one of my Buff Orpintons. Once I've figured out that she's broody, I take her out of the nesting box and put her out of the run. She'll lie there acting all hurt and puffy but eventually joins her sisters for a little while. Then she'll try to get back in. We have 3 boxes and she will want to sit in the one that's the current popular box everyone lays in. But before she gets back in, I block off the nesting box with a piece of cardboard. She will sit on the perch and act all strange and puffy every time I open the coop door but she gets over it in a day or two. I just make sure I collect the eggs in the new box ASAP before she gets any ideas.