Hi Frindizzle,
I came up with the broody breaking run in desperation when my favorite hen was broody for 3 months, and she was in such a deep trance that she was having to be tube fed to keep from starving to death. I can't remember how long she took to break, as I was trying everything at that time and several things ran together. I think she took about 10-12 days in total, but I could be wrong. But it did work. I think the reason it took so long for her is because I initially put the run near a large clump of bamboo, and I kept finding that she gathered up the fallen bamboo leaves to create a nest. That's when I realized that she couldn't have any nest options whatsoever. I moved her to an area that was half under the eave of my house -- half dirt, half lawn, completely out of sight of her own nest, in an area where she didn't usually range, with no nesting material of any kind. For days she just sat there on nothing, completely in her broody trance. Then slowly she began to pay attention to the world around her, then eventually she started walking around -- still clucking like a broody, but that was the first time she'd walked more than 10 steps in 6-8 weeks!! She eventually started eating treats, and then later real food. Then one day she stopped clucking. I couldn't believe it - she finally stopped. I let her out of the broody run the next day and she went out to the flock. Unfortunately, it had been so long that the flock didn't remember her, and she was so stiff and debilitated that when they attacked her she couldn't defend herself. I had to intervene, and separated her from the flock until she had time to build up her strength, which took another few weeks. But with proper reintroduction, everything was fine.
Good luck with your hen. Please post again to let me know how things go with her. She will be more difficult than most, but if you stick with it, and support her nutritionally, she should do fine. I've been using this method for years now, approximately 25-30 times per year, and have been very happy with it. Just make sure that she is completely done brooding before you let her out. Given how long she's been broody, I'd recommend watching her very carefully the first two days to be sure that she doesn't try to return to the nest, and to be sure that she doesn't get beat up by her flockmates.
I came up with the broody breaking run in desperation when my favorite hen was broody for 3 months, and she was in such a deep trance that she was having to be tube fed to keep from starving to death. I can't remember how long she took to break, as I was trying everything at that time and several things ran together. I think she took about 10-12 days in total, but I could be wrong. But it did work. I think the reason it took so long for her is because I initially put the run near a large clump of bamboo, and I kept finding that she gathered up the fallen bamboo leaves to create a nest. That's when I realized that she couldn't have any nest options whatsoever. I moved her to an area that was half under the eave of my house -- half dirt, half lawn, completely out of sight of her own nest, in an area where she didn't usually range, with no nesting material of any kind. For days she just sat there on nothing, completely in her broody trance. Then slowly she began to pay attention to the world around her, then eventually she started walking around -- still clucking like a broody, but that was the first time she'd walked more than 10 steps in 6-8 weeks!! She eventually started eating treats, and then later real food. Then one day she stopped clucking. I couldn't believe it - she finally stopped. I let her out of the broody run the next day and she went out to the flock. Unfortunately, it had been so long that the flock didn't remember her, and she was so stiff and debilitated that when they attacked her she couldn't defend herself. I had to intervene, and separated her from the flock until she had time to build up her strength, which took another few weeks. But with proper reintroduction, everything was fine.
Good luck with your hen. Please post again to let me know how things go with her. She will be more difficult than most, but if you stick with it, and support her nutritionally, she should do fine. I've been using this method for years now, approximately 25-30 times per year, and have been very happy with it. Just make sure that she is completely done brooding before you let her out. Given how long she's been broody, I'd recommend watching her very carefully the first two days to be sure that she doesn't try to return to the nest, and to be sure that she doesn't get beat up by her flockmates.
