Broody hen

[EaeMre]

I have a hen that has been sitting in one of the nesting boxes for a couple of days now. She has rolled all the golf balls under her, I have removed them. I take her out at least once a day to get some food, water and stretch her legs. The other hens all peck at her and are being mean. Should I break her from being broody? If so , how? Or how long does this last?

Also , I have another hen that is jumping on top of the other hens backs and riding them, acting like a rooster. (I do not have a rooster) if you know what I mean. Is this normal?

 

[nchls school]

I let my hens brood a few weeks and the put them in a cage with no nesting material; just a bare cage. Within a week they stop being broody and can be released back into the flock.

 

[aart]

I have a hen that has been sitting in one of the nesting boxes for a couple of days now. She has rolled all the golf balls under her, I have removed them. I take her out at least once a day to get some food, water and stretch her legs. The other hens all peck at her and are being mean. Should I break her from being broody? If so , how? Or how long does this last?

Also , I have another hen that is jumping on top of the other hens backs and riding them, acting like a rooster. (I do not have a rooster) if you know what I mean. Is this normal?

Yes, hens can dominate other hens by riding their backs if no cockbird present.

Was she low hen before going broody?
Is she truly broody or just hiding from the other birds?
If you don't want her to hatch out some chicks for you, then I would break her sooner rather than later.

My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop and I would feed her some crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two.
Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken: