Broody hen--help?

[shi1807]

I have a hen that has been trying to sit in one of the nesting boxes for 3 days. I remove her and take all eggs out. She goes right back to the nesting box when I leave and sits again so I remove her again several times throughout the day. I just removed her and now she is making herself a bed in the dirt in the run--she just wants to sit. She is making sweet little sounds that I have no idea what they mean. The way my coop is built, there is no way to separate her. Suggestions please! I don't want baby chicks. I'm pretty new at this and this is the first time one of my hens just wants to sit. Small flock--8 hens and 1 rooster. All suggestions welcome!

 

[Judy]

The first post discusses this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/181289/how-to-break-a-broody-hen/0_20

 

[BantamFan4Life]

The best things to do is try and make your hen not want to be broody. I've heard of putting a hen in a little pan of water for a half an hour so then they won't sit because they don't want to get wet. After you take them out, they shouldn't want to be broody anymore. The thing that I would recommend to the most is put the hen in a wire floor, that way they can't make a nest. I usually keep them in there for two days. Whenever I do that, my hens stop going broody. The only bad thing about doing that is that most people don't have wire floor cages. Hope this helps!

 

[shi1807]

Thank you BantamFan4life!

 

[shi1807]

Thank you, Judy!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Thank you BantamFan4life!

No problem! Hope it helps.