"Broody" Hen...Question About Breaking Her

[hokankai]

So I have a very persistent GLW who is determined to go broody. I believe this is the 4th time and she is just barely over a year old. This time though is a little bit different. I had my BO hen hatch and raise chicks in the coop, and the babies are now 8 weeks old. Mama recently "abandoned" them, and it seems like the GLW has stepped in to play the foster mom roll. Well, the problem is that that means she's not laying any eggs

. She clucks and "tid-bits" like a mama hen, is kind of puffy, has stopped laying, but does not spend time in the nests at all.

Do I go about breaking her the same way as the other times even if she isn't wanting to spend any time on a nest? We usually put her in a 4'x4' pen alone in the shop for 3-4 days or until she lays an egg...whichever happens first.

 

[Beekissed]

If this were my hen and she had went broody four times in one year, I would cull. I don't mind a broody hen and a few of mine would get broody at least once a year, but I had one like you described and she spent more time broody than she did laying eggs. I would have still utilized her as a reproduction foster mom but she wasn't a good mother either.

Time to cut one from the flock.

 

[hokankai]

Quote:
Eh, these are pet birds so we're not annoyed enough to cull her, plus we're adding 6 more layers to the flock so if she's pretty much worthless no big deal. She breaks pretty easily but yes...it is very annoying. I feel like I should give her a chance to hatch chicks someday, but she's not the friendliest in the flock so I think the babies wouldn't be too friendly.

If the new girls start laying and she doesn't show any improvement...then we may give her to a family friend because of money.

 

[galanie]

To answer the question, yes you could break her the same way. But when you put her back, she might just do it all over again.

 

[hokankai]

Ugh, so of course she's doing it again, hahaha. My sister loves her though, so we're not getting rid of her unfortunately <_<

She's kind of preventing the babies from integrating into the main flock. The babies are getting pecked at right now because they're smaller, but when Rosie's out there they are two completely different flocks...and I can't have that.

Any other ideas on breaking her? She's currently in a 2'x2' covered pen with only food and water. So far she's just very bored, haha. Do I keep her in there until she lays an egg? Is she only doing this because the babies are still peeping or what? The babies are 10 weeks old now, they definitely do NOT need a foster mom!

 

[donrae]

Send her to me! I'm always looking for broodies, you could assure your sis she'd have a great life as a momma, wouldn't that make her (the hen, that is) so happy?

 

[geepy]

I have a broody I would not give up for nothing. She is 10 years old. Right now she has turkeys under her and she didn't even hatch them.
Turkey just left them. Some times a good broody is a blessing.
I forgot to say she is a bantam.

 

[ScotianChick]

If it doesn't matter if she's laying eggs... why bother breaking her? I would only break her if she refused to get up to eat and drink.

I have a broody who has gone about 5 times since spring and I'm at the end of my rope.

 

[hokankai]

Quote:
I'd love to give her to you! But I don't know how I'd get her there

I guess you're right, I'll let her out of the broody breaker then, haha. I think it'll stop once the babies don't sound like babies anymore