Broody Hen

[sbrown1414]

I have my first broody hen. I have not been able to break her of it yet. She has been broody for a little over a week. I take her out of the nest box as often as I can. Then, I block the nest boxes with wood when I know that the others are all done laying. Tonight, she made her own nest on the coop floor right outside the nest box entry. I only have hens and don't know anybody with fertilized eggs, so that is not an option. Do I need to keep trying to break her of this, or will she eventually get over it on her own. She is a lady and doesn't peck me or anything when I take her out or remove the eggs. Also, she is sleeping on the roost. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[gritsar]

If she is sleeping on the roost, she's not what I call full-on broody yet. When she stays in the nest full-time and does the "pancake" thing when you remove her (you'll know the pancake when you see it) then she could be considered broody.

Is she still laying? Have you checked her for being egg bound?

If fertile eggs aren't an option, what about newly hatched chicks? Do you want more chickens?

 

[sbrown1414]

She is only sleeping on the roost because I block the nest boxes at night. She is not laying and she goes into the nest box whenever I'm not around. She is also constantly puffed up and clucking when she is not on the nest. I can always tell which one is her when I get her out of the nest because she puffs up real big, puts her tail in the air and lets out this weird squack when she sees me. She is really causing a traffic jam in the nest boxes. I would LOVE to have more chicks, but we have the maximum amount we are allowed in our town. I really wish I could give her some babies. I feel so badly for her that she cannot have any. Do you know how long this will go on? Do I need to just keep on removing her from the nest until she gets over it? Would it be quicker to just let her be? She is kind of driving me crazy!

 

[BrewedInNh]

We're in the same position. Our first broody started last Friday. We have 2 actual nests, and there are 2 other spots on the floor where they routinely lay. I put 2 golf balls in one of the proper nests and moved the broody to that nest. She was happy enough with that, and everyone else has access to their favorite spots.

We let them free range for several hours every afternoon, so I've been locking them all out of the coop including the broody. She hangs around the coop looking for a way back in, but she does eat & drink & scratch for bugs while she out too. She hasn't layed since Saturday.

I've read about caging a broody for a few days to break them, but since I'd have to get a cage or build one I was wondering what would happen if I do nothing. Would the broody snap out of it on her own? Are the any health risks to her?

 

[Noymira]

I too have a broody hen I'm trying to deal with. We really don't need more babies right now, so I've been trying to gently encourage her to snap out of it.

We have seven 7 week old chicks that have been outside during the afternoons in a small pen near the hens tractor, I think that helped prompt her to go broody. Last night I blocked the part of the tractor I couldn't reach (right where she decided to nest) with milk crates, hoping that would help. This morning she had built a new nest right in front of the old one blocked by the milk crate, as though she had been there all along.

We are moving her to the new coop in a couple weeks, so I might just deal with her until then and hope the change of scenery snaps her out of it.

Good luck! I've seen many threads on here on how to break a broody, do a search and you'll get some ideas!

 

[gritsar]

While I'm all for letting things take their natural course, a broody is not eating as much as they should and can lose a considerable amount of weight.

If she can't have eggs or chicks, best to break her IMO. Here's some threads on that:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/search.php?search_id=683915759