Finicky Broody Help Needed

[beth1004]

I have a hen who I tested to make sure she was truly broody. After a week or so, I finally put her on eggs in the nest box. I needed to move her to a crate inside the coop because she wasn't letting the other hens in the boxes. When she went out for potty breaks, other hens would get in there and the egg count went from the 6 I put under her to 8. I moved her to the crate. All she did was pace in there and not sit on the eggs. I put her back in the nest box with the eggs. Then I fond her in another nest box and the eggs were abandoned. Last night we fixed the nursery coop and locked her in there. I opened it this morning so she could potty and the eggs looked like they hadn't been touched. She is currently pacing in the little fenced yard.

What do I do? Do I buy an incubator and put the eggs in it? I don't have another broody hen currently. Do I throw them away? This has been going on since Sunday.

 

[grayjay11o]

I would throw those eggs away and start more in an incubator if you have one.

 

[beth1004]

I would throw those eggs away and start more in an incubator if you have one.

That's what I was afraid of. We weren't actually looking to hatch more eggs currently. She was just so damned determined that we gave in. If these eggs aren't viable, I'll chuck them and keep her penned til she stops this nonsense.

 

[DobieLover]

That's what I was afraid of. We weren't actually looking to hatch more eggs currently. She was just so damned determined that we gave in. If these eggs aren't viable, I'll chuck them and keep her penned til she stops this nonsense.

How did you try to break her? Just keeping her penned away from the nest boxes usually isn't enough.

 

[beth1004]

I kept her in a dog crate like I had done with other chickens.

 

[DobieLover]

I kept her in a dog crate like I had done with other chickens.

How high off the ground? It also helps to dunk their bellies in cool water and put a fan on them when they are crated.
Good luck breaking that stubborn girl! I have my third broody in the crate now. She's starting to crack. My fan died so I have to go get another one. I may also incorporate a few ice packs along the perimeter of the crate.

 

[beth1004]

It sits on the ground. I've never put a fan on them or put their bellies in cool water. There isn't electricity out there so I won't be able to put a fan on her.

 

[DobieLover]

It sits on the ground. I've never put a fan on them or put their bellies in cool water. There isn't electricity out there so I won't be able to put a fan on her.

Put the crate up on some blocks. You can use cinder blocks, scrap pieces of 4x4s, or even logs if you can stabilize them. You can put a few ice packs along the edges of the crate to help cool the air in the crate too. Just change them out during the day. Try to keep that belly cool. I also crate my girls in the run where there is high traffic. She is positioned between the coop pop door, the run door that leads to the pen, a pan with a melting ice chunk in it for the chooks to drink and wade in during the day and the feed troughs. Basically Grand Central Station level activity. To try to snap her brain out of it too.

I failed breaking broody number 2. Her eggs are due to hatch in a week.