Broody jail...safe?

[Kaesi2020]

Hi all, my one year old BO has been broody for a few days, first time ever. I at first just tried to repeatedly remove her from the coop nest but I could not always stay out and monitor that closely. When it was not working, we got this small dog cage, removed the floor mat, installed hardware cloth on bottom with a roost bar and a food and water section. We put her in there with it raised off the ground. She has been fussing a lot, sticking her head through the wire slots. The slots are big enough for her to do that...but I am just worried that she may freak out and hurt herself. Should I just let the process continue and trust that she will eventually chill out in there? Its only been a couple of hours. I plan on putting her back on the roost bar in the coop at night (she has not been hopping off at night because of the darkness). Thank you. Below is a similar cage to the one we have, only with a hardware cloth bottom now.

 

[Lexicon]

Hi all, my one year old BO has been broody for a few days, first time ever. I at first just tried to repeatedly remove her from the coop nest but I could not always stay out and monitor that closely. When it was not working, we got this small dog cage, removed the floor mat, installed hardware cloth on bottom with a roost bar and a food and water section. We put her in there with it raised off the ground. She has been fussing a lot, sticking her head through the wire slots. The slots are big enough for her to do that...but I am just worried that she may freak out and hurt herself. Should I just let the process continue and trust that she will eventually chill out in there? Its only been a couple of hours. I plan on putting her back on the roost bar in the coop at night (she has not been hopping off at night because of the darkness). Thank you. Below is a similar cage to the one we have, only with a hardware cloth bottom now.

I have had three broody Buff Orpingtons so far this spring, the same age as yours. I used the same setup as yours as well.
I was worried the first time too, but it worked fairly quickly. The one problem I had was that one of my girls was very upset about not being with the flock at night and continually tried slamming her head between the bars. She could hear the flock, but not see them. By morning, the area near her ears was sore and I felt terrible. She healed quickly, and only needed that one night in the crate (two days, one night).
This might not be a problem if you can let her out overnight. I live so far north that it's still light at bedtime.
My other girls settled much more quickly, so I suggest just keeping an eye on her.
Good luck with your broody girl!

 

[3KillerBs]

I used this setup with my broody a few weeks ago. Very similar crate.

The first night when she saw the flock going into the coop without her she was frantic but she settled down once it was dark (I stayed out there until she calmed down). The next 3 days she was fine.

 

[Lexicon]

I used this setup with my broody a few weeks ago. Very similar crate.

The first night when she saw the flock going into the coop without her she was frantic but she settled down once it was dark (I stayed out there until she calmed down). The next 3 days she was fine.

For my second broody, I tried putting the crate right in the coop at night, but then all my other girls refused to go in the coop with that scary crate in there (that had been in the run with them all day!!)

 

[3KillerBs]

For my second broody, I tried putting the crate right in the coop at night, but then all my other girls refused to go in the coop with that scary crate in there (that had been in the run with them all day!!)

My current coop is too small for the crate so it had to stay in the run.

 

[Kaesi2020]

I have had three broody Buff Orpingtons so far this spring, the same age as yours. I used the same setup as yours as well.
I was worried the first time too, but it worked fairly quickly. The one problem I had was that one of my girls was very upset about not being with the flock at night and continually tried slamming her head between the bars. She could hear the flock, but not see them. By morning, the area near her ears was sore and I felt terrible. She healed quickly, and only needed that one night in the crate (two days, one night).
This might not be a problem if you can let her out overnight. I live so far north that it's still light at bedtime.
My other girls settled much more quickly, so I suggest just keeping an eye on her.
Good luck with your broody girl!

Thank you for the reply. Mine was slamming her head a bit too. Thankfully she stopped and settled down. I kept her in the cage for about five hours, then she free ranged with the flock (with access to the coop cut off) and I placed her on the roost last night. I was so surprised to wake up and notice within a couple of hours that the broody behavior was gone! She did not attempt to enter the nesting box and stopped fluffing up like a turkey. She even let me scoop her up. So glad that's over!! Hopefully

 

[Kaesi2020]

I used this setup with my broody a few weeks ago. Very similar crate.

The first night when she saw the flock going into the coop without her she was frantic but she settled down once it was dark (I stayed out there until she calmed down). The next 3 days she was fine.

Thanks. It sure is startling at first when they go in the cage and at one point I almost let mine out but I stayed strong! She spent 5 hours in it yesterday, roosted with the others at night and seems back to normal this morning- no nesting obsession, noises or turkey stance LOL