Chicken who rather sit on eggs than lay

[JaimeGoulart]

I have a chicken who rather sit on eggs than lay. I have no roster. I tried dunking her in water but it doesn't work!! What do I do? Please Reply I Thank You.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

QUICK! FIND SOME FERTILE EGGS!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Wow - there's lots of people on here that would LOVE a broody hen! But, I have read to put them in a wire cage, lifted off the ground, so the air blows on their bum...I always use my broodies, so I've never tried it myself. The only time one of my broodies was able to be broken, was when another hen kicked her off her nest and took over!

 

[JaimeGoulart]

HI MAMA!!!!!! I love you.

 

[pgpoultry]

Your hen is broody, and no rooster is needed for her to go broody (only to make the eggs fertile). If she never saw a rooster in her life she could still become broody.

Broody hens do not lay (they conserve their energy whilst sitting on a clutch).

The cold water treatment is pretty nasty for the hen, and, as you have seen, may not work.Broodiness is due to a hormonal change in the hen and is not down to a choice that she has made.

Either let her have fertile eggs to hatch if you want chicks or separate her from your other hens for a few days with her breast and belly in an environment that they are kept cold (e.g a dog cage on a garage floor). Breaking broodiness can be quite difficult, but has to be done if you don't want chicks.


Sandie

 

[amysflock]

I hear your pain! Three of my 8 hens have gone broody over the past three months. I tried to let the first (a BLRW) set, but she ended up breaking and eating the eggs. She got the wire cage treatment and was "broken" of it after 2 days. Her evil twin (another BLRW) went broody a week later, and 2 days in the wire cage broke her, too. Then one of my Easter Eggers (who was just finishing rearing chicks when I bought her last year) decided to go broody last week, and she can't be broken! I've got her sitting on 10 eggs (today is day 8).

I'm going to have to move her out of the coop though, because guess who I found co-sitting with her last night? One of those two BLRW hens!! (Back in the wire cage for you, Missy!)

I don't know what it is about these BLRW...I wasn't under the impression they were so broody. I have 3 and one hasn't done it yet, but I also suspect she doesn't lay.