Broody hen won't stop brooding!

[marshajoy]

I'm looking for solutions on how to get a broody hen to stay out of the nestbox all day. We don't need baby chicks, and I've read that the process of brooding is hard on the hen, since her body temperature rises and she doesn't get out much to eat or drink. I've removed her from the nesting box just now and put up the bars across them for the night, but when I put them back down tomorrow, she will probably go right back. How can I snap her out of it?

Thanks!

Marsha

 

[Judy]

The usual method seems to be to put her in a wire cage like a dog crate for a few days with no nesting material. I've also read about putting her in an area with a concrete floor, again with no nesting material. In either case, the idea is to keep her bottom side cool. There are a number of threads on BYC about breaking a broody. Some broodies are much more stubborn than others. I just take mine out of the nest twice a day and prod them til they eat and drink, so at least they get a little extra food and water. Some give up in a few days, and one is still at it a couple of months later. Probably the most surefire method is to give her some fertile eggs to hatch and raise the chicks, or slip a couple of day old chicks under her at night for her to raise. Here is one long discussion which starts with the cage method:

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