Broody Hen

[aart]

The cage snapped her out of it and only required 2 nights. She has though stopped laying, I assume this is somewhat normal but how long should it last?
Wade

Couple few weeks is what it took mine to start laying again.

 

[kimberley848]

Welcome to BYC!


That is obviously not working, sometimes it does, but...time for the crate.
It may take longer than a few days to break her since she's been broody for a couple weeks.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
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 with fed and water

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) 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.

Feed and water added after pic was taken.

 

[kimberley848]

I have a 10 mon GL Wyandotte who's going broody, today is her first day and there's no doubt, she laid an egg too. My coop is only a 4x4, how do I put her in a cage? Or where, there's not enough room. I do have a spare coop I could put her in, but I don't really want to separate her. Any suggestions? Cage sounds like a perfect plan, though.

 

[aart]

today is her first day and there's no doubt, she laid an egg too.

If she laid an egg, she's not broody.
Some birds just spend a lot of time in the nest before and after laying.
Some take longer to lay and some are just 'loungers'.
I don't call 'broody' until they stop laying and spend most the day and all night in the nest and become 'pancaked'.

If she is broody, you may have to put the crate in a weather protected place in the run during the day and put her on the roost after dark.

 

[RWise]

I had a RIR/production red that went broody, on the nest almost all day and all night, clucking and pulled her belly feathers. Only off the nest to poo and eat/drink and back to it. She laid an egg every day 7 days a week the entire time. It was either her or the RIR roo that was with her,,,when I took the eggs they were 3 deep in the nest, and she continued to lay every day, but did go to the roost after I took the eggs. I never let her set again and let her go to someone that only cared about getting eggs, we are both happy.
Another EE hen lays for 2 or 3 days after taking a nest.
Some girls just break the rules,,,,

 

[kimberley848]

Well, I think that may have been her "egg" to hatch that she laid, because she spent the night in the nest. I'm certain she spent the day on the nest because 2 of the 3 nesting boxes with eggs were all toasty warm when I collected them and kicked her out. I shut the coop door to keep her out , at least until they need to go in later. I'm going to play it by ear for now, do the crate when I absolutely have to. I'll use a carrier I have if she ends up needing it, and thank you......I had no idea of what to do without space in the coop.

 

[RWise]

I had one girl that I thought was going broody, I found her on the nest at dusk. The next morning I looked, she had laid an egg after dark. I kept an eye on her she would do this 1 night a week. I suppose she new she was going to drop an egg and wanted it to be in the right place,,,

 

[aart]

I had one girl that I thought was going broody, I found her on the nest at dusk. The next morning I looked, she had laid an egg after dark. I kept an eye on her she would do this 1 night a week. I suppose she new she was going to drop an egg and wanted it to be in the right place,,,

Have had this happen too....
...find a bird in nest after dark at lock up and go 'Oh No Another Broody!'
I move them to the roost,
then find a very early egg in a nest the next morning,
or they drop it off the roost during the night,
or they drop it as I'm moving them!
I always feel kinda bad about that.