Dunking Broodies in Cold Water?

[Patinas]

Update: As of yesterday, the one hen was still determined to get on the nest. I let her out of the cage and she immediately went for the nest box so I put her out of the coop with the rest of the flock to forage and she hung by the door most of the day wanting to get in. When I finally opened it she ran right back in and found the one nest with an egg in it and nestled right on it so back in the cage she went for the rest of the day and night.

Today, the weather is sunny so if she's still broody, I'll try dunking her belly in cold water and let her run around the yard.

I'm still really concerned for her due to how skinny she is. The other day I gave her tuna, some scratch and meal worms and she did eat everything on the plate when I checked on her so that was good. Yesterday the only thing I saw her eat was some grass. I keep fresh water and feed in the cage when she's in there.

This is my first experience with a hen this broody and thought she would have snapped out of it by now. It's become a battle of wills between us and I'm as determined as she is to win!

The good news is the rest of the flock have stopped picking on her relentlessly when she's out foraging with them. I think keeping her in the cage inside the coop has helped rather than her isolating herself in the nest box.

Today or tomorrow I'm thoroughly cleaning out the coop so maybe all the activity in the run and coop will shake her up along with a dunking in cold water. We'll see!

 

[TheChickenGuy123]

If you've tried to dunk a broody hen in cold water and it didn't work should you try it again or should you go to the dog crate option? I read that you should dunk a hen in cold water first so I tried that but she immediately went back on the nest. We have a large dog crate for her but I also wanted to know if I should put it outside the coop or in my garage. Please respond as I need to know soon.

 

[TheChickenGuy123]

Follow up to my last response: What should you do at night with the cage because it drops into the forties at night and I'm a bit worried about that plus we have predators that are outside at night. Also, I let my hens out into my backyard during the day and I wondered how long I should have her out for.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Follow up to my last response: What should you do at night with the cage because it drops into the forties at night and I'm a bit worried about that plus we have predators that are outside at night. Also, I let my hens out into my backyard during the day and I wondered how long I should have her out for.

The crate should go where you feel it's secure enough for safety at night - if it doesn't fit in the coop then yes you may need to move it into a garage at night for example.

40F is NOT remotely cold. No need to move the crate if your concern is temperature. However it should be placed somewhere where it's protected from high winds or precipitation or too much sun.

During the day, if the chickens normally free range than having her in coop or free range area should be fine - in any case it's best to have her within view of the flock so there won't be need for reintegration once she's broken.