Can't break a broody, please give me ideas

[The Sniper]

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!

Now that is a good idea!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Now that is a good idea!

Thanks. And it proved them both to be good mommies. One is actually a bit on the vicious side in fact. Together they are raising 21 hatchery chicks and I don't worry about them at all! Vicious Alligator Death Mommy protects them from All Dangers, and Sweet Darling Patient Mommy gathers up the stragglers and ones that get lost and left behind. They make a great team!

 

[Minanora]

Tinker went broody for weeks. Standard jail didn't work and I couldn't kick her out in the orchard like last time and lock the other girls in the run because I had 6 chickens too many to do that with (was waiting for MIL to pick up her chickens I raised for her). I finally had to put her in broody jail crate on the ground in the run with water and fed her once a day. She was so mad, but I let her out once she stopped making broody clucks. Probably close to 5 days in the jail without letting her out. I just moved her crate daily so she wasn't in poo all the time. And when I broke her I put her up on the roost at bed time just to be sure.

 

[Sueby]

She does have a fan, and an industrial one at that, blowing on her belly.

Absolutely 0 options to let her hatch anything.

I have been thinking of just letting her out of jail, but she is disruptive to the other girls, she steals the favorite box & is just relentlessly mean to everyone. I think I will give her till the weekend & then just let her out to terrorize the chicken yard and be what she will be.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have a persistent broody who is near impossible to break.
Last time she stayed broody for over 6 weeks.
Broody jail or not makes no difference to her.
The only thing I have done that seems to work is packing ice blocks around her. Make sure she is not standing in ice and that she has feathers between her and the ice because you don’t want her to get frostbite.
Mostly I just let her sit for however long she wants and just make sure she gets to eat and drink every day.
Here she is packed with ice in her broody jail and mad as all hell at me!
The next time I used ice was in the middle of the heat wave and I think she actually liked it!

 

[Sueby]

I have a persistent broody who is near impossible to break.
Last time she stayed broody for over 6 weeks.
Broody jail or not makes no difference to her.
The only thing I have done that seems to work is packing ice blocks around her. Make sure she is not standing in ice and that she has feathers between her and the ice because you don’t want her to get frostbite.
Mostly I just let her sit for however long she wants and just make sure she gets to eat and drink every day.
Here she is packed with ice in her broody jail and mad as all hell at me!
The next time I used ice was in the middle of the heat wave and I think she actually liked it!
View attachment 4186014

Now that is an interesting idea! I'm going to go make some ice blocks. That'll be good because this awful heat is supposed to break for tomorrow so they might have a chance of not melting instantly.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I had a hen go broody quite a while back. I was going to get hatching eggs of a breed i wanted but the breeder was out(so many orders she couldnt fill). So i just decided to hatch my own. Which i have nevr had luck with, she hatched 2 beautiful chicks. Now i have 2 more broodies one who eats eggs after sitting on them and one i would hatch with but i cant hatch anymore right now. . I just lock them outside the coop for 30 minutes to a hour. Fans havent worked. Never did a broody jail as taking them away from the nest has always worked. They break themselves. I had broodies who stayed on the nest 8 weeks with no chicks. I take eggs away every night.

 

[RoyalChick]

Now that is an interesting idea! I'm going to go make some ice blocks. That'll be good because this awful heat is supposed to break for tomorrow so they might have a chance of not melting instantly.

Good luck - be careful about frostbite

 

[CochinLady61]

At 100 degrees you are not able to get her cold enough. Freeze a couple plastic 2 liter pop bottles with water and stick them in her cage with her. We do that with our rabbits to keep the bucks somewhat fertile during these trying times. Switch out the frozen bottles when they thaw.

I'd keep that going until the outside temps fall at least 10 or more degrees.

Good luck.

 

[PeaceMary]

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.

She won't like it, but just put her in a vat of cool water up to her neck. Keep her underwater for at least 5 minutes(i pet her and talk to her to calm her down but it works very time).