Broody hen

[HdeGchickenmomma]

I have a broody hen that has become very thin because she would not leave her nest..I now remove her 2x a day and place her in the run or take her and one other hen to the garden to let them scratch and catch bugs but she seems to eat very little. I have also noticed that 2 of my other hens attack her when she is in the run. What can I do to break her broodiness? and will peace to the run be restored when she is no longer broody? (She also seems to be afraid of everything)

 

[Chicken0223]

We have a blue Easter egger that is super broody - clucking around, puffing up, pulling breast feathers, just grumpy and hormonal and sitting on nest all day! We tried a few different things, but the only thing that works for us is to put her in chicken jail. We have a dog crate set up in the garage with food and water and leave her in there for about 24 hours...next morning take her back to run/coop - if she runs right back to the coop to try and sit on a nest, back to chicken jail. Never have we had to keep her in there more than 2 days. Even at night she stays in there. She is definitely high maintenance but I decided she really can’t help how her hormones anymore than we can help ours! LOL! Over the past three months she’s been in chicken jail three times. I guess she just wants some babies, but since we don’t have a rooster she’s just wasting her time. Good luck!

 

[HdeGchickenmomma]

We have a blue Easter egger that is super broody - clucking around, puffing up, pulling breast feathers, just grumpy and hormonal and sitting on nest all day! We tried a few different things, but the only thing that works for us is to put her in chicken jail. We have a dog crate set up in the garage with food and water and leave her in there for about 24 hours...next morning take her back to run/coop - if she runs right back to the coop to try and sit on a nest, back to chicken jail. Never have we had to keep her in there more than 2 days. Even at night she stays in there. She is definitely high maintenance but I decided she really can’t help how her hormones anymore than we can help ours! LOL! Over the past three months she’s been in chicken jail three times. I guess she just wants some babies, but since we don’t have a rooster she’s just wasting her time. Good luck!

Thank you, since I don't have a garage I was thinking about shutting the henhouse and making her stay in the run with the other hens for the day.

 

[CrazyCochin]

I guess she just wants some babies

I have three that want the same thing!
Two bantam Cochins, and one Blue Wyandotte!

 

[Chicken0223]

We were going to try that but that’s where the rest go to lay their eggs. I read somewhere else to put the crate in the run - that way she can’t get to the nesting boxes.

 

[CrazyCochin]

I have a broody hen that has become very thin because she would not leave her nest..I now remove her 2x a day and place her in the run or take her and one other hen to the garden to let them scratch and catch bugs but she seems to eat very little. I have also noticed that 2 of my other hens attack her when she is in the run. What can I do to break her broodiness? and will peace to the run be restored when she is no longer broody? (She also seems to be afraid of everything)

Like @HdeGchickenmomma said, separate her!
And keep a small bowl of food with her constantly, and water!
And make sure you keep taking her outside for grazing and to potty, those broody hens take the largest dumps ever after they have been sitting! Believe me, I know!

 

[CrazyCochin]

We were going to try that but that’s where the rest go to lay their eggs. I read somewhere else to put the crate in the run - that way she can’t get to the nesting boxes.

That would work too!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes you need to break her broodiness at this point if you're not going to hatch, as you've noted they can lose a lot of body condition and it also can cause some discord with the flock because of hormones and broody behavior.

Broody jail: Put her in an isolation cage with some food and water, in sight of the others (in the coop if it's not too hot or in/near the run is ideal). A wire cage elevated to air flow under her would be the best option, however I've used everything from a brooder to a dog exercise pen.

Keep her in the cage around the clock for about 2 days. At that time, if she's shows fewer signs of broodiness (puffing up, flattening down and growling, tik tik tik noise) you can let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest at any point (usually they don't do it immediately, but maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour) then she's not yet sufficiently broken and needs to go back to the cage for another 24 hours. Then let her out and test her again. Repeat until she's no longer going to the nest box.

IF the isolation cage is not safe for overnight stay (i.e. sits outside the run) then put her on the roost at night, and retrieve her from the nest box the next morning and put her back in the cage. It may take a little longer this way but better than letting a predator get to her.

 

[HdeGchickenmomma]

Like @HdeGchickenmomma said, separate her!
And keep a small bowl of food with her constantly, and water!
And make sure you keep taking her outside for grazing and to potty, those broody hens take the largest dumps ever after they have been sitting! Believe me, I know!

She hasn't

Yes you need to break her broodiness at this point if you're not going to hatch, as you've noted they can lose a lot of body condition and it also can cause some discord with the flock because of hormones and broody behavior.

Broody jail: Put her in an isolation cage with some food and water, in sight of the others (in the coop if it's not too hot or in/near the run is ideal). A wire cage elevated to air flow under her would be the best option, however I've used everything from a brooder to a dog exercise pen.

Keep her in the cage around the clock for about 2 days. At that time, if she's shows fewer signs of broodiness (puffing up, flattening down and growling, tik tik tik noise) you can let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest at any point (usually they don't do it immediately, but maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour) then she's not yet sufficiently broken and needs to go back to the cage for another 24 hours. Then let her out and test her again. Repeat until she's no longer going to the nest box.

IF the isolation cage is not safe for overnight stay (i.e. sits outside the run) then put her on the roost at night, and retrieve her from the nest box the next morning and put her back in the cage. It may take a little longer this way but better than letting a predator get to her.

Thank you!

 

[HdeGchickenmomma]

Like @HdeGchickenmomma said, separate her!
And keep a small bowl of food with her constantly, and water!
And make sure you keep taking her outside for grazing and to potty, those broody hens take the largest dumps ever after they have been sitting! Believe me, I know!

We lost power last night so I'm sorry I didn't get to complete the answer...lol.
She isn't eating much so her fecal matter is barely anything. I am going to mix some food with water and try to get her to eat; my peeps (8 week olds)seem to love it and a few of my big hens do so I'm going to try to feed her some.