Brrody chicken

[Malini]

One of my hens (I have 4 and they are just over a year old) has started being broody. Its been a week. I always pick up the eggs daily. As soon as she started being broody, I started making her get out of the nesting box three times a day (She will then go out into the run and eat/drink) and remove any egg that is in the nesting box.

The coop is 5X4X6 with 3 nesting boxes & is attached to a 10X10 run. I read that not giving her access to the nesting box is good method to break this behavior. I do not have an option of keeping her separated from the nestbox/coop at this time. Is there anything else I can do?


If I had a rooster, I would have just let her brood. She keeps switching the nestbox in which she wants to brood. Else I would have just given her a few eggs to sit on! I feel really bad pushing her out of the nestbox every time when she is trying to do something that is very natural for her.

 

[azygous]

Your information was incomplete. Simply removing the broody from the nest box doesn't do anything to interrupt her hormones that keep her broody. You need to keep her from going to the nest boxes and interrupt the broody hormones, as well.

Broody hormones are perpetuated by the hen's elevated body temperature. You need to cool her down, but dunking her in cold water won't do it, nor will slipping a bag of frozen peas under her. She needs to be cooled down for 24 to 72 hours. You do that by finding a cage with an open mesh bottom so air can circulate under her, cooling her body.

No bedding. Just food and water. Keep her there day and night. By the end of the second day, you can test her by letting her out. If she goes straight to the nest box, she needs another day and night in the cage.

It usually takes three days to break a broody. But some require up to a week to ten days. This is better than leaving a non-sitting broody alone since she won't eat much and it's very hard on her health prolonging broodiness for no good reason.

 

[Malini]

Your information was incomplete. Simply removing the broody from the nest box doesn't do anything to interrupt her hormones that keep her broody. You need to keep her from going to the nest boxes and interrupt the broody hormones, as well.

Broody hormones are perpetuated by the hen's elevated body temperature. You need to cool her down, but dunking her in cold water won't do it, nor will slipping a bag of frozen peas under her. She needs to be cooled down for 24 to 72 hours. You do that by finding a cage with an open mesh bottom so air can circulate under her, cooling her body.

No bedding. Just food and water. Keep her there day and night. By the end of the second day, you can test her by letting her out. If she goes straight to the nest box, she needs another day and night in the cage.

It usually takes three days to break a broody. But some require up to a week to ten days. This is better than leaving a non-sitting broody alone since she won't eat much and it's very hard on her health prolonging broodiness for no good reason.

Thank you so much for explaining this in detail. I will buy a cage and do as you recommended.