I have a year-old Barred Rock that started going broody about 10 days ago.
She usually lays like clockwork on an almost-daily basis. Last week, she started spending a lot more time on the nesting box, didn't seem happy to enjoy the yard or free-ranging, and got a bit vocal when we got close to her. One day, she laid a very small, oddly shaped egg in mid-morning, then laid a second egg later in the evening. I did crack open the first egg and it looked like normal but not quite fully formed - very weird. The next day, there was another small egg, but since then, she has not laid. There are no roosters so she doesn't have a chance at fertilized eggs. If she can get to the nest box, she stays there as long as we let her. If anyone gets close, she gets as big as a turkey and growls. She's also quite aggressive with our 9wk chicks (not hers) and goes after them whenever she gets a chance (usually they are in look-but-not-touch situations), though I'm not sure if that's broodiness or just pecking order establishment.
I have researched here and on other sites to understand how to break her broodiness. I've done a cool bath (on nice days) and tried to keep her in there for as long as she will allow, which is only a minute or two at a time. I've closed off the coop/nesting boxes to her and encouraged (quite repetitively) free ranging in the yard, which used to be her favorite thing. Now, she might range for a minute or two, but ends up wandering back to the coop or just plunking down where she stands. What I've read leads me to believe there's not much to do other than wait it out. My question is, does it hurt/help to let her just lay in the nesting box all day? I'm trying to encourage her back to normal behavior but I guess I don't know if that's necessary. She's not sitting on eggs, or anything to simulate eggs, and we won't be getting any new chicks for adoption.
Is there anything else I can or should be doing to speed this process up and/or make it easier on all involved?
She usually lays like clockwork on an almost-daily basis. Last week, she started spending a lot more time on the nesting box, didn't seem happy to enjoy the yard or free-ranging, and got a bit vocal when we got close to her. One day, she laid a very small, oddly shaped egg in mid-morning, then laid a second egg later in the evening. I did crack open the first egg and it looked like normal but not quite fully formed - very weird. The next day, there was another small egg, but since then, she has not laid. There are no roosters so she doesn't have a chance at fertilized eggs. If she can get to the nest box, she stays there as long as we let her. If anyone gets close, she gets as big as a turkey and growls. She's also quite aggressive with our 9wk chicks (not hers) and goes after them whenever she gets a chance (usually they are in look-but-not-touch situations), though I'm not sure if that's broodiness or just pecking order establishment.
I have researched here and on other sites to understand how to break her broodiness. I've done a cool bath (on nice days) and tried to keep her in there for as long as she will allow, which is only a minute or two at a time. I've closed off the coop/nesting boxes to her and encouraged (quite repetitively) free ranging in the yard, which used to be her favorite thing. Now, she might range for a minute or two, but ends up wandering back to the coop or just plunking down where she stands. What I've read leads me to believe there's not much to do other than wait it out. My question is, does it hurt/help to let her just lay in the nesting box all day? I'm trying to encourage her back to normal behavior but I guess I don't know if that's necessary. She's not sitting on eggs, or anything to simulate eggs, and we won't be getting any new chicks for adoption.
Is there anything else I can or should be doing to speed this process up and/or make it easier on all involved?
