Broody won't stop brooding!

[SpaceyTracy]

Hi, I have a small flock of 5 hens, no rooster. One of them has been broody for over a month now. Early on I tried chicken jail for two days at a time (two or three times) and giving her cold water belly baths. I looked for baby chicks to give her to raise and found a couple but they were too old and she didn't accept them. Now I just kick her out of the coop a couple times a day to go eat and drink something. I read she would snap out of this on her own after about three weeks. Not happening! Do I need to do something else? This can't be good for her health.

 

[Rare]

Get one rooster, and keep both together with no nesting box and no eggs.

 

[rayrose]

Two days is not long enough for broody jail. It takes a
minimum of 3 and sometimes 4 days.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Early on I tried chicken jail for two days at a time

What does chicken jail look like? Is it elevated with a wire mesh floor so her belly gets cooled? A photo might be interesting. Anyway, I leave mine in for 72 hours , not 48, and if it doesn't work I keep trying. Some can be a lot harder than others to break.

I read she would snap out of this on her own after about three weeks.

I've read that myth before, and that is pure myth. I almost never give my broody hens eggs until they have been broody for a week to make sure they are seriously broody and to collect hatching eggs and I've never had one of them quit. Three weeks is pure myth.

Do I need to do something else? This can't be good for her health.

It's not as bad as you think yet. Before a hen even starts to lay she stores up excess fat. People that wind up butchering their hens are often amazed at how much fat this can be. This fat is mostly what she lives off of while broody so she can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs instead of having to go out and find food and water all the time. She probably still has some reserves at 5 weeks. She will lose weight but it's fat put there for that purpose. No big deal.

Most hens will break from being broody when they use up that fat. Most doesn't necessarily mean all. I'd go back to the broody jail for longer periods of time. Make sure she had food and water but nothing like a nest. I have had a few that took a lot of days to break.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Two days is not long enough for broody jail. It takes a
minimum of 3 and sometimes 4 days.

2 days can be enough for some birds, especially if caught early.

Hardcore broodies do need to be jailed for longer. I have a serial broody that takes 4-5 days to break, and she goes broody 3 or 4 times a year, so it's a lot of time in a crate for her.

 

[Sussex19]

I have found that putting them in a crate up on the roosts at night helps a lot, as well as having them in jail in the daytime.

 

[aart]

What does chicken jail look like? Is it elevated with a wire mesh floor so her belly gets cooled? A photo might be interesting. Anyway, I leave mine in for 72 hours , not 48, and if it doesn't work I keep trying. Some can be a lot harder than others to break.

Ditto All Dat^^^

 

[NatJ]

I read she would snap out of this on her own after about three weeks. Not happening!

It seems to vary from one hen to another. I've had one that quit around the 3 week point, and another that stayed broody for 6 or 7 weeks before quitting, and others at various points in between.

I've had hens that were broody for 4-5 weeks and then raised chicks (hatched eggs that I gave them a week or two late, or chicks that I bought.) I do not know how much longer those hens would have stayed broody otherwise.

 

[SpaceyTracy]

What does chicken jail look like? Is it elevated with a wire mesh floor so her belly gets cooled? A photo might be interesting. Anyway, I leave mine in for 72 hours , not 48, and if it doesn't work I keep trying. Some can be a lot harder than others to break.


I've read that myth before, and that is pure myth. I almost never give my broody hens eggs until they have been broody for a week to make sure they are seriously broody and to collect hatching eggs and I've never had one of them quit. Three weeks is pure myth.


It's not as bad as you think yet. Before a hen even starts to lay she stores up excess fat. People that wind up butchering their hens are often amazed at how much fat this can be. This fat is mostly what she lives off of while broody so she can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs instead of having to go out and find food and water all the time. She probably still has some reserves at 5 weeks. She will lose weight but it's fat put there for that purpose. No big deal.

Most hens will break from being broody when they use up that fat. Most doesn't necessarily mean all. I'd go back to the broody jail for longer periods of time. Make sure she had food and water but nothing like a nest. I have had a few that took a lot of days to break.

OK, back in chicken jail she goes. It is a wire mesh dog crate. I used to have a scrap piece of 4x4 in there for a roost but she just sat on it all day. For the second round I took it out. It was elevated on a pallet but she would brood on one of the pallet slats under the crate. So then I put it up on two boards on either side. Thanks for the info about the fat stores--makes sense and does relieve my anxiety a bit!

 

[aart]

OK, back in chicken jail she goes. It is a wire mesh dog crate. I used to have a scrap piece of 4x4 in there for a roost but she just sat on it all day. For the second round I took it out. It was elevated on a pallet but she would brood on one of the pallet slats under the crate. So then I put it up on two boards on either side. Thanks for the info about the fat stores--makes sense and does relieve my anxiety a bit!

Is the bottom wire too?
Yeah, I've had one brood on the 2x4 floor roost in there too.