Broody Orpington

[MissDolly]

I’m pretty new to having chickens. I have an assorted flock of 5 hens. My Orpington began to stay in the nesting box on Sunday. So I started to take her out of the nesting box and put her back in the coop with the other girls. This has not been working. Last night I went to see if she was on the roost, and my girl was back in the nesting box. We are back at it this morning and I found she has plucked out good size area of her chest feathers. She lays almost every day, I check the nesting boxes 2-4 times a day (depending on my egg count), all of them are active layers. Is there really any harm to let her just brood on a fake egg?

 

[50-45-1]

https://the-chicken-chick.com/broody-breaker-when-hens-mood-to-hatch/
This article explains why you should break your broody if you have no plans to let her hatch chicks.

 

[aart]

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

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(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. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My way to break a broody is less involved. I lock her in an elevated cage with a wire floor with food and water and leave her in there for 72 hours. Then I let her out. if she goes to a nest I do it again. if she's broken she is broken. But to each their own. Different ways work.

Before a hen even starts to lay she builds up an excess of fat. When she is broody she will leave her nest occasionally to eat, drink, poop, and maybe take a dust bath, but that extra fat is what she mostly lives off of while she is broody. That way she can stay on the nest instead of needing to look for food. She will lose weight while broody, but that is fat put there for that purpose.

There is no telling how long a hen will stay broody if she doesn't get chicks to raise. Many will break from being broody when that excess fat runs out and she starts to lose weight she shouldn't. Some will stay broody even longer though, long enough to harm themselves.

There are other reasons to break her too. In my opinion if you are not going to give her eggs to hatch or baby chicks to raise you should break her as soon as you determine she is broody.

 

[MissDolly]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I went to Tractor Supply and bought a 30 x 30 rabbit cage and put in on 4 x 4 in our garage. After 6 days, I brought her & the cage out and put it next to their run. That evening I put her in with the other girls. She seemed so happy to be back. She roosted at night and was back to herself the next morning. She started laying right away. I’m feeling more confident each “crisis” lol I have dealt with with your help. Thanks Again