Hen not laying eggs but in the box all day and night

[lunahills]

No it does not mess them up at all when you break them. Have you been taking her out at all to eat or has she been jumping out herself and eating?

I haven’t seen her come out at all, and finally realized something was going on after a day or so of that.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

You really need to get her of it. That's terrible for her.

 

[21hens-incharge]

She may be doing a speed run while you aren't looking.
They tend to do everything in hyper speed when off the nest.

Mine have always popped up ran out to poo, drink, eat, quick dust bath and maybe peck at anyone close then back to the nest.

I do agree if you are not hatching anything and don't plan to have her adopt any chicks it's best to break her sooner rather than later.

 

[JurassicBawk]

I've got a 1 pound OEGB that tries to go broody occasionally and sit on my regular size chicken eggs, running the big girls out of the nest box and trying to sit on an egg pile bigger than her. The easiest way I've found to break her from it without having to separate her is a nice slow dunk in a bucket of cool water. When they go broody they will pluck feathers from their breast area to increase skin contact with the eggs and will raise their body temperature up a few degrees to become incubators. By literally cooling them off it knocks their body out of it, and by getting wet mine would be mad enough to have to go preen and fix her feathers for awhile, getting her mind off sitting in the box. This past month I did it twice a day (when I'd go out and find her sitting in the box) for 2 days, and she was done with it all and back to normal by day 3.

 

[lunahills]

You really need to get her of it. That's terrible for her.

I did the “broody jail” starting this morning. I’m watching her in the dog crate right now and she’s moving around, eating and drinking. So that’s a positive! She’s not happy, obviously, so I’m thinking of letting her out in a bit and trying the water idea @JurassicBawk mentioned if I find her in the box again.

 

[aart]

We don’t have a roo so there’s nothing to hatch, but I was reading another post that suggests putting her in “broody jail” like a dog crate, which I do already have. I think I’ll do this so that I can force her to eat and drink...it’s been way too hot for her to sit in the coop not drinking.

Might want to give her and the others a dose of Electrolytes/Vitamins.
Small batch measurements here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

I did the “broody jail” starting this morning. I’m watching her in the dog crate right now and she’s moving around, eating and drinking. So that’s a positive! She’s not happy, obviously, so I’m thinking of letting her out in a bit and trying the water idea @JurassicBawk mentioned if I find her in the box again.

If it's really hot, wetting her undercarriage in cool(not COLD)water might be a good idea before putting her in the crate. I'd keep her in the crate tho, if she's really broody she my just go right back to the nest, wet or not. When it's hot I put the crate in the run or a shaded part of the yard.


My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire(1x2) on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

After 48 hours I let her out of crate very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate for another 48 hours.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor,
gives the feet a break from the wire floor and encourages roosting.