Broody Hen Question

[dct10]

I have a Buff Cochin hen who has gone broody for the first time. The problem is, she has chosen a place in the run to drop her eggs and she doesn't want to go in at night. I have 4 nesting boxes available inside the coop. I picked her and her eggs up and let her see me put them into a box. She refuses to use the box inside the coop even though that's where her eggs are. I locked her and the eggs inside the coop at night and she did not lay on them. So I took the eggs away hoping it would break the cycle. Well, she's right back at it in the same spot outside the coop and dropped a new egg there. Obviously this cannot happen outside the coop as she won;t be safe at night. Any expert guidance appreciated.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would like her to hatch some eggs in the future but not right now since we already have 11 new chicks.

Then you need to break her. Lock her in an elevated crate as I mentioned.

If I break the broody cycle wil she ever go broody again?

Probably but you don't get guarantees on any chicken behaviors. Going broody is hormonal, some hens never go broody. Some hens rarely go broody, maybe once a year at most. Some go broody several times a year. You can never tell if a hen will ever go broody again and they sure seem to like to go broody a inconvenient times.

To be as clear as I can, practically all the broody hens I break from being broody do go broody again. I just don't know when that will be.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some things don't sound right. A broody hen should not be laying eggs. Are you sure she is the one laying those eggs? Sometimes another hen will lay with a broody or a broody will move an egg to her nest. If she is truly broody and laying eggs that is not right. But you say she wants to spend the night out there. That's how I tell that a hen is really broody, she spends two consecutive nights on the nest instead of on the roost where she normally sleeps.

Assuming she is broody what do you want to happen? Do you want her to hatch eggs or do you want to break her from being broody? If you want to break her from being broody The best way I've found is to lock her in an elevated wire-bottomed cage or crate so cool air can blow up under her and cool her underside. Leave her in there for 72 hours with food and water but no nest. It needs to be in a predator proof area. If she goes back to her old nest when you let her out, do it again.

If you want her to hatch eggs, you need to put her somewhere that you can lock her in there with a nest, food, and water. We can go into more detail but she needs to be locked in there until her eggs hatch.

So what do you want to happen?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

You have to break her if you don't want her in the run at night. They bind more with a spot than the eggs which is why you can switch eggs out. I have a spot behind my nest boxes that must be amazing because every broody this year has wanted that spot

 

[FuzzyOwlFeet]

What happens if you block that spot in the run? Like put a feeder/waterer, maybe a big rock, anything that makes that specific spot non-accessible to her.

 

[aart]

The coop isn't large enough to put a crate inside and I'm not crazy about leaving her in the run overnight even in a crate but it's looking like this may be necessary.

You can put the crate somewhere safe at night....doesn't have to be in the coop.

 

[dct10]

What happens if you block that spot in the run? Like put a feeder/waterer, maybe a big rock, anything that makes that specific spot non-accessible to her.

Funny you should ask. It all started within a stack of straw bails. I left a pocket in the stack where chickens could hang out. That's where she started laying. So I filled in the open spot with a bail so she made a new spot under a chair. She doesn't seem to want anything to do with the boxes inside the coop. She has been laying for about 4 months now and she has never laid an egg inside the coop. She has picked a few different places in the run like under the ramp and the aforementioned open area in the bails. I fear she is missing the plot.

 

[dct10]

Well, here's the full story. She did lay one egg and was laying on it 3 days ago. When dusk came she didn;t go into the coop with the others. I checked her out and she was nippy and puffy and made the pissed off hen sound exactly like our last broody. I moved her and the egg into a nesting box inside the coop and put it with 3 other eggs. She had no interest. I left her in the coop overnight with the others hoping she would move to the box, but in the AM, she was in a different part of the coop and the eggs were cool. So I took the eggs out and filled the empty area in the straw pile with a bail so she didn't go back into it. Yesterday she was laying under a chair when I came out at dusk to lock everyone in. I checked her out and she seems fine. She is just behaving exactly like our Orpington when she was broody. I put her into the coop for the night. This morning, she came out like usual and was all puffy and ornary like the last broody we had and chased the younger chicks away. Now she is right back under the chair. I haven't checked to see if she layed another egg but she's definitely healthy and eating/drinking. She didn't have any interest in leaving the run to free range the past two days. I'll go check to see if there is a new egg. Should I have not taken the eggs away? I would like her to hatch some eggs in the future but not right now since we already have 11 new chicks. If I break the broody cycle wil she ever go broody again?

 

[dct10]

Some things don't sound right. A broody hen should not be laying eggs. Are you sure she is the one laying those eggs? Sometimes another hen will lay with a broody or a broody will move an egg to her nest. If she is truly broody and laying eggs that is not right. But you say she wants to spend the night out there. That's how I tell that a hen is really broody, she spends two consecutive nights on the nest instead of on the roost where she normally sleeps.

Assuming she is broody what do you want to happen? Do you want her to hatch eggs or do you want to break her from being broody? If you want to break her from being broody The best way I've found is to lock her in an elevated wire-bottomed cage or crate so cool air can blow up under her and cool her underside. Leave her in there for 72 hours with food and water but no nest. It needs to be in a predator proof area. If she goes back to her old nest when you let her out, do it again.

If you want her to hatch eggs, you need to put her somewhere that you can lock her in there with a nest, food, and water. We can go into more detail but she needs to be locked in there until her eggs hatch.

So what do you want to happen?

Then you need to break her. Lock her in an elevated crate as I mentioned.


Probably but you don't get guarantees on any chicken behaviors. Going broody is hormonal, some hens never go broody. Some hens rarely go broody, maybe once a year at most. Some go broody several times a year. You can never tell if a hen will ever go broody again and they sure seem to like to go broody a inconvenient times.

To be as clear as I can, practically all the broody hens I break from being broody do go broody again. I just don't know when that will be.

Thanks for the advice. So to update you, I went out to check on her today and she was still sitting under the same chair. Somehow she managed to pull a can of Blu Kote under her and was apparently trying to hatch it. I pulled it out and she had no egg. At dusk she still remained there and I had to physically put her into the coop. Poor girl. She's very confused. She's my favorite so I want to do right by her. Wouldn't be too big of a deal if she was using a box but she won't go near them. Every other hen lays in the boxes so she should know by now what they are for.

 

[aart]

Wouldn't be too big of a deal if she was using a box but she won't go near them.

If you don't want her to hatch it doesn't really matter where she is setting.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire(1x2) on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

After 48 hours I let her out of crate very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate for another 48 hours.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken, gives the feet a break from the wire floor and encourages roosting.