Broody hen - losing my sanity

[Ange2016]

Hi everyone I need your help. I have a broody hen. She was laying daily but then went broody. Started off tossing her out of the nest box multiple times a day for a couple of weeks. Then moved on to dunking her butt in cold water. Then bought a dog crate and imprisioned her. I read that two to three days should do it.....we are in our third week! I have let her out a couple of times for the day as I felt bad with her stuck in there for too long at a time. She's quite happy sitting in the crate on the wire base being broody. I live in suburbia and can't let her sit and hatch babies so that's not an option. I have just let her out after almost a week in the supposed broody breaker and she's gone straight to the nest box. I also cannot block off the nest boxes as my other hens won't be able to lay. This chook is driving me crazy! I just want her go get over it and go back to laying.any other suggestions?
Angela.

 

[Coyox]

Ever thought of buying her 8 or so fake eggs to sit on? I don't have much experience here but I've heard that works.

 

[Ange2016]

I forgot to mention that she's been broody now for at least 8 weeks.

 

[Ange2016]

I used to have fake eggs in there but removed them as it seemed to encourage the bloodiness in my previous chooks.

 

[SueT]

Hi Ange, 8 weeks is terribly long. Is she eating? I am guessing you have already read forums on How to Break a Broody Hen. If not, take a look at this one, in all the 107 or so pages, maybe you can find an answer, or you can re submit your question at the end..... https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/181289/how-to-break-a-broody-hen It's under chicken behaviors and egg laying rather than hatching eggs as this one is.
The wire bottom cage is supposed to do it, it worked for me on 3 occasions in 5 days or less. Is yours elevated off the floor so that cool air flows beneath her? I have used a fan to facilitate this, mine were broody in the summer. Where do you live and what is the weather like and where is your broody cage? Good luck on finding a solution, I hope others more experienced than me will have more input...

 

[rebrascora]

Agree with SueT

The important thing about the wire bottomed broody buster cage is to chock it up off the ground so that there is several inches of air flow underneath. If your climate is hot, a fan underneath will help and placing it in in the run where there is lots going on to distract her, rather than in a dark quiet hen coop. Just make sure she has shade from the sun and a small wooden perch in the cage so that she is not standing directly on the wire. What you are aiming to do is to lower her body temperature a little.

Good luck.

 

[Ange2016]

Yes she is eating but not much. She's lost quite a bit of weight. Yes I do have it elevated off the ground on besser blocks (breeze blocks) however I do have it in the coop. I will move her out into the run and put a tarp above to protect from sun and rain. It's very hot here now as its summer. I live in qld Australia. I think she's been enjoying the dark of the coop too much. I didn't know to add a perch so will do that also. Thanks for all advice so far.

 

[rebrascora]

It might help to soak the ground under the cage too to provide a little more coolness particularly during the heat of the day. The roost bar needs to be quite fine.... just an inch or so, so that she can't flatten down onto it and generate heat but has to actively roost on it.

Some broodies can be pretty stubborn. Such a shame you can't indulge her.

 

[Beekissed]

It might also help to place another hen in with her...seems like they tend to snap out of it quicker if they have a friend to do it with.

 

[Teila]

Hey Angela

I too have had a couple of determined broodies this season.

I actually just finished an accidental experiment with one of my gals, not to be mean but just because I was not able to set up the broody breaker.

In the past she has been broken in the broody breaker [wire dog crate] in 3-5 days maximum. This last time, however, I tried the locking her out of the coop and run trick. Because I only had one hen actually laying it was easy to let her in and out when she wanted.

It took 13 days to break her.

In my experience it is best to have the broody breaker away from sight of the coop and nest boxes.