Broody issues

[Juno's Chicks]

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all the information! I do have a quick question and can't seem to figure out what I should do.

We have our first broody! An Australorp named Gloria! YAY!! She's been like this for over a week and only seems to be getting more into it! Here's my problem.... She's in everyone's favorite nesting box in the coop. I've tried to move her 3 times now. All she does is pace the pen and growl. I let her out and she runs right back to the box she wants. I've moved her at night, made the pen more enclosed, tried easter eggs and the eggs she was already setting on. Should I try moving her at all or just let her be? I really don't want to break her! How long should I let her just pace? Each time she's been in the new pen about 20 hours. What have all the experts done?! THANK YOU!!!

 

[BayBay Peepers]

I had one that had to occupy the favorite box as well. I never had any luck moving her. Eventually I just let her have it and made an extra large one to make the other girls happy. We had three matching boxes and now have a fourth deluxe size. I even tried a separate coop to keep her safe from the others and it was a no go. After her hatch I was able to move her though.

Good luck!

 

[bobbi-j]

Last year I had a very determined broody who also decided to nest in everyone's favorite spot. Now, the nest box I have has EIGHT compartments. Apparently only one is fit for them to use. The other 7 are no good. Not at all. I tried putting this broody in a different compartment. I tried moving her to a different pen altogether. I tried putting her on the floor. Nope. She wanted THAT space. So, I just let her be. I am fortunate in that I can close off part of my coop to isolate a broody, so that's what I did. She had that whole side of the coop to herself and the other chickens had to adjust. If that doesn't work for you, you can always mark the eggs you want her to set on, so that when the other chickens get in there and lay, you know which eggs to pull each day. That's about all I have to offer. They sure can be stubborn!





(My stubborn broody from last year.)

 

[bobbi-j]

Oh, one more thing. Unless she's been setting steadily for any amount of time, you might want to start her with a fresh batch of eggs so you know they'll all be incubating at the same rate. That way you won't have to deal with eggs that are at different stages of incubation.

 

[iwiw60]

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all the information! I do have a quick question and can't seem to figure out what I should do.

We have our first broody! An Australorp named Gloria! YAY!! She's been like this for over a week and only seems to be getting more into it! Here's my problem.... She's in everyone's favorite nesting box in the coop. I've tried to move her 3 times now. All she does is pace the pen and growl. I let her out and she runs right back to the box she wants. I've moved her at night, made the pen more enclosed, tried easter eggs and the eggs she was already setting on. Should I try moving her at all or just let her be? I really don't want to break her! How long should I let her just pace? Each time she's been in the new pen about 20 hours. What have all the experts done?! THANK YOU!!!

You say you moved her out and she runs right back. Did you set up a dog crate or other enclosure so she can't get out? Another thing might be doing it. Yes, move her at night, but when you do pick up the ENTIRE NEST, EGGS & ALL and move it to the new area. Close her in and see what happens, just make sure she has her own water/feed. Good luck and keep us updated!!

 

[BayBay Peepers]

I'd like to hear what happens if you do that. I moved the whole nest at night and she just about had a heart attack the next morning. She started smashing up against the fencing so I opened it up. She ran to be with the flock for a day and returned to her usual spot in the main coop from then on haha

 

[bobbi-j]

I moved my stubborn one at night. No dice. She wanted nothing to do with it. That being said, I have also had success in moving broodies at night. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Who can ever know what goes on in the mind of a chicken?