Broody two times

[Pmac]

I have a Buff that has gone broody for the second time. I caged her for 4 days and it worked perfectly except for one problem. When I put her back the other 5 girls jumped her and bloodied her head. They scared her but they all finally got back to normal. Now she had gone broody again. I have no rooster and dont plan on giving her any chicks. Help.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Unfortunately she will probably go broody another time or two. Some of mine I have broke multiple times already. It's best if you don't remove her from the sight of the others.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Did you keep the "Broody Jail" in the coop with the flock? I've never had a problem when removing from BJ. Try releasing her at night or toss out their favorite treat prior to releasing her, distraction. Glad she's ok.

 

[Pmac]

Unfortunately she will probably go broody another time or two. Some of mine I have broke multiple times already. It's best if you don't remove her from the sight of the others.

 

[Pmac]

Unfortunately she will probably go broody another time or two. Some of mine I have broke multiple times already. It's best if you don't remove her from the sight of the others.

 

[Pmac]

Thank you for the info. My coop is not extremely large and no room under the covered area for a dog kennel. Do you mean for the entire time she is confined or just while reintroducing her after confinement? I was so excited that breaking her seemed to work but then when the other girls bullied her I was so upset. What happens if I just leave her be. Will she get past this on her own?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thank you for the info. My coop is not extremely large and no room under the covered area for a dog kennel. Do you mean for the entire time she is confined or just while reintroducing her after confinement? I was so excited that breaking her seemed to work but then when the other girls bullied her I was so upset. What happens if I just leave her be. Will she get past this on her own?

Yes birds should remain within sight the entire time to avoid those brutal fights you saw the last time. That occurs because a hen left, than came back which disrupts the pecking order which needs to be reestablished.

Often if you leave a broody be she will be disruptive to the flock. Often other hens will fight with a broody that is off the nest, and sometimes being broody can become contagious to other hens. If left to set a hen will do just that for weeks on end until she becomes so depleted that she breaks herself. I have left them, but it's best to break them asap to avoid all that stress on them.

 

[Susan Dye]

Thank you for the info. My coop is not extremely large and no room under the covered area for a dog kennel. Do you mean for the entire time she is confined or just while reintroducing her after confinement? I was so excited that breaking her seemed to work but then when the other girls bullied her I was so upset. What happens if I just leave her be. Will she get past this on her own?

I had the same problem last year with no shelter when my BO went broody for the first time. She's now gone boody for the second time this year. If you can avoid letting her break on her own, it's the better choice. My BO is not only not laying, but she's keeping the other hens from coming into the coop to lay their eggs. You can hear her growling at them from 10 ft away. Since you don't have a sheltered area for a crate, look for something that you put over a crate as a temp shelter like a pop up child's tent or even a piece of plywood. It doesn't have to be fancy. Just so the top is covered and the other hens can still see her. I still do not have a safe place for my broody jail to be left overnight, so as soon as I'm sure (or reasonably sure) that the other hens have all laid their eggs, I block the nest off and let her out of jail. That way, she gets a few hrs in the late afternoon/early evening out in the yard and encourages her to roost with the rest of the flock overnight. I unblock the nests when I open the run in the morning and lock her back up for the day. Last month when she went broody, it only took 3 days to break her. I'm just hoping this doesn't become a regular behavior. Yearly I can handle, monthly not so much.