Can't break a broody, please give me ideas

[Sueby]

I have a broody, she's going on 8 days now, and I can't break her. She's in a crate, up off the ground with a wire floor and just a 2x3 to sit on. I have a fan blowing on her down low. I have tried dunking her (she gets REAL mad, lol). I left her like this the first few days, then I started letting her out at night for a couple hours to dust bathe while the coop is closed up. As soon as I open the coop door she runs right back in & sits again. She's eating & drinking fine and she looks & feels good but I'm about to lose my mind. I have never had a chicken last this long, it's almost 100* outside and to top it all off, she's a RSL! I never had a red even go broody, never mind be this determined.

What else can I try? I feel bad for her. Chicks are not an option.

 

[cj2024]

I have a broody, she's going on 8 days now, and I can't break her. She's in a crate, up off the ground with a wire floor and just a 2x3 to sit on. I have a fan blowing on her down low. I have tried dunking her (she gets REAL mad, lol). I left her like this the first few days, then I started letting her out at night for a couple hours to dust bathe while the coop is closed up. As soon as I open the coop door she runs right back in & sits again. She's eating & drinking fine and she looks & feels good but I'm about to lose my mind. I have never had a chicken last this long, it's almost 100* outside and to top it all off, she's a RSL! I never had a red even go broody, never mind be this determined.

What else can I try? I feel bad for her. Chicks are not an option.

I gently let my hens float and swim in water to cool them off. It resets their clock.

 

[Sueby]

I gently let my hens float and swim in water to cool them off. It resets their clock.

There is no gentle with her, she is a raging maniac who would kill me if she could! When I dunk her I hold her in the water for like 5 mins kind of splashing her breast to wet the feathers. It hasn't helped at all and she just tries to bite me and escape, think of an alligator rolling it's kill. LOL

 

[The Sniper]

Let her hatch a nest I say

 

[User690263]

Let her hatch a nest I say

Chicks are not an option.

 

[User690263]

There is no gentle with her, she is a raging maniac who would kill me if she could! When I dunk her I hold her in the water for like 5 mins kind of splashing her breast to wet the feathers. It hasn't helped at all and she just tries to bite me and escape, think of an alligator rolling it's kill. LOL

What I do is broody jail, cold baths, and removing eggs from the nest asap once the others lay them. You sort of just have to stick with it, it takes time. If it gets really bad, you can try blocking off the nesting box, that's worked for me previously.

 

[Sueby]

What I do is broody jail, cold baths, and removing eggs from the nest asap once the others lay them. You sort of just have to stick with it, it takes time. If it gets really bad, you can try blocking off the nesting box, that's worked for me previously.

She is in broody jail, she doesn't have access to the nest and hasn't laid an egg since going broody. Cold baths only piss her off, lol. I'm out of ideas and considering soup, except it's too hot for soup.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

She is in broody jail, she doesn't have access to the nest and hasn't laid an egg since going broody. Cold baths only piss her off, lol. I'm out of ideas and considering soup, except it's too hot for soup.

Since you have her jail elevated off the ground, do you have the fan aimed at her underside? Cooling off her lady bits, as it were.

 

[The Sniper]

let her hatch and give em away
or is any form of hatching a no-go

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Couple of options:

If you do decide to process her, she could go in the freezer until you are ready to soup her ...

Or you could just leave her be. In five or six weeks she will probably come out of it. You could keep her in broody jail till then, just let her out once a day to eat, drink, poop and dust bathe. Or if you leave her in Gen Pop* you will have to toss her off the nest once a day to remove eggs from under her that other hens may have laid in her nest. (Wear gloves, lol!) Though she being so grumpy, probably other hens are staying off her nest.

One final possibility: give her one egg and let her hatch it. That's what I did with my two stubborn ones. And now I have two lovely cockerels about ready to go in the freezer!

* General Population