Broody

[Rock chook]

How do I stop one with broody behaviour? She has been in nest box day after day, all day for 3 weeks now. I keep,taking her out, but she goes back eventually.

 

[TwoChicksChix]

Place her in a small sink with cold water at the bottom to cool her off. If you remove some of the heat from her belly it often gets them to stop being broody.

Or you can purchase two Chicks or so and stick them under her at night in the hopes that she takes them and gets over being broody.

 

[DobieLover]

How do I stop one with broody behaviour? She has been in nest box day after day, all day for 3 weeks now. I keep,taking her out, but she goes back eventually.

You need to put her in a medium sized dog crate with food and water and elevate the crate so she has air flow under her belly. I also will spray a broody hens belly with water to cool her off before putting her back in the crate.
I keep the crate in a high traffic zone where there will be lots of activity to help snap her out of it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I lock mine up with food and water in a pen in the run, away from nest boxes. They stay in there around the clock until they start showing fewer broody behaviors, then I test them to see if they'll return to nest box. If they do, it's another 24 hours in the pen. Usually takes about 3 days to break if done promptly.

In your case this has been going on so long that she will probably take longer to break.

 

[aart]

Place her in a small sink with cold water at the bottom to cool her off. If you remove some of the heat from her belly it often gets them to stop being broody.

Or you can purchase two Chicks or so and stick them under her at night in the hopes that she takes them and gets over being broody.

Be careful with this. Cool water, not cold.
Getting her chicks might work.


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.

 

[Rock chook]

Thanks ,will try the cool water trick as don't have a dog crate. The nearest I have is a cat carrier.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks ,will try the cool water trick as don't have a dog crate. The nearest I have is a cat carrier.

I'd suggest picking up a crate (or some sort of pen/isolation cage), even if you don't use it for this instance. It may come in handy for a variety of things, from treating an injured or sick bird to breaking broodies.

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks ,will try the cool water trick as don't have a dog crate. The nearest I have is a cat carrier.

Check Craigslist. You can usually find them there pretty cheap and it is a useful tool to have at hand.

 

[aart]

Check Craigslist. You can usually find them there pretty cheap and it is a useful tool to have at hand.

Flea markets and yard sales too.
The folding ones are best, less room to store them.
Fit out bottoms with 1x2" cage wire:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/