Broody Hen - no rooster

[lavender2015]

Just wanted everyone to know that Ruby has hatched 4 lovely chicks and is being a wonderful mother. I would have missed out on so much fun and entertainment if I had just broke her broodiness! Thanks again for all the replies and help. By the way I finally found out why you dunk a chicken in cold water to break their broodiness. It has to do with high body temperature signals that it is time to hatch chicks. Lowering their body temperature removes the signal.

 

[KayTee]

I'm pleased for you and Ruby - now you have a new installment of 'chicken tv' to watch!

Adult birds are fun to sit and watch as they hunt for bugs and interact, but chicks are amazing - the best way to waste time that I have found to date. Enjoy every minute!

 

[lokiloki]

Okay... **DO NOT** put a broody in a cage!! We are rehabbing hens because of this! There are breeds that are broody and breeds that have the broodiness bred out of them. Please know the breed! All 44 of our hens have been rescued from various places that used this technique and various owners trying to "break the broody". It has taken us 9 months to rehab a silkie from this! We have some hens that flip out if the gate to the pen is closed.

If your a woman with your period, do you lock yourself in a dog kennel to stop bleeding? No. You wait for your hormones to return to normal. Same with chickens. Get them up often to stretch, eat, drink and poo. After sometime they're hormones will return to normal. 25+ years with chickens and never had one die an early death from being broody. Not sure why this is even still in practice and why so many people believe that by torturing their hens they are doing them a service.

Question - I move my broody to a section of our chicken tractor where she has food and water and is on the grass. I assume I always let her out to go back in the coop. She always heads right back to the coop. We are in week 2. Yesterday I let her out and there was a fight - but am not sure if she was attacked by the three other females or if she was the attacker. She fought back but did end up with a gash on her face. I didn't separate her today. I am new to this and inherited the chickens. They are also molting lightly. Views? Should I keep moving her to her own section or is this creating conflict?