hen wont leave fake eggs??

[ChickenMorals]

There is a clutch of 4 fake clay eggs in the coop to deter egg eating. One of my hens has become 'broody' on these eggs. She'll scream when I try to move her, and she seems very upset. What do I do?

 

[holm25]

There is a clutch of 4 fake clay eggs in the coop to deter egg eating. One of my hens has become 'broody' on these eggs. She'll scream when I try to move her, and she seems very upset. What do I do?

Hold her in a tub of cold water for a few minutes every day until she decides to stop. That usually works for me. Make sure to swish her a little bit so the water gets in the feathers. Just make sure to keep her head out of them water

 

[The Angry Hen]

Hey There,

From what I can tell... It doesn't sound like you want her to be broody on any eggs at the moment. If you do though- and you want baby chicks- you can place fertile eggs under her...

I actually never thought about it, bit now that I have, I agree with the advice @holm25 had given above. There are a few ways to break brood... That is a good one.

I hope everything works well for what you'd like to accomplish. God bless.

Regards,
-Angry Hen

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Hi Chicken Morals!! Welcome to BYC.

Is this your weather right now?

If it is...I don't advise making your hen wet. I'm from Manitoba, Canada and we're about the same temperatures. I don't believe I'd want to be dunking one of my broody hens until she's soaking wet.

You can take the fake eggs way from her. Sometimes that's enough to do it. If you have a separate pen without eggs...sometimes that's enough. A kennel or open wire cage in a comfortable area of the coop can also work. You can also just keep taking her off the nest and sometimes that's enough to deter them. I take my broody hens off their nest everyday to collect eggs. The may not like it...but it doesn't hurt them.

I have a broody hen right now. If she doesn't stop being broody when I take the eggs away for a few days...I'll just put her in the back pen and try that before I get serious about it. I have over several broody hens a year.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Probably getting cold where you are located.
I would not want a soaked chicken in cold temps.

Have you seen a broody breaker cage set up?

It is a wire bottom cage set up in blocks inside the coop with food and water and the broody bird. Don't use any bedding in the breaker. It allows her to cool off more slowly.

If you dunk/dip a bird in cold water and release her she will likely still head for the safe warm nest box to dry off and growl about it.

This video is pretty good for info.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Probably getting cold where you are located.
I would not want a soaked chicken in cold temps.

Have you seen a broody breaker cage set up?

It is a wire bottom cage set up in blocks inside the coop with food and water and the broody bird. Don't use any bedding in the breaker. It allows her to cool off more slowly.

If you dunk/dip a bird in cold water and release her she will likely still head for the safe warm nest box to dry off and growl about it.

This video is pretty good for info.

Agreed. There are several ways to break a broody, I prefer the broody buster cage

 

[holm25]

@ChickenMorals i never realized you were a fellow Minnesotan! Welcome! You should check out the Surviving Minnesota page!

I see that many recommend not dipping a hen in this weather but I would still do it and then just toss her in a cage in your garage or house. The broody buster cages can take quite awhile in my experience? I don't know...

 

[ChickenMorals]

I took the eggs away from her. She eventually (after about 20 mins) stood up and went to go peck at some grit. So far, she hasn't headed back to the nest box, and isn't clucking or screeching anymore. I'll keep you all updated. @holm25, please link me to the 'Surviving Minnesota' page!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

@ChickenMorals i never realized you were a fellow Minnesotan! Welcome! You should check out the Surviving Minnesota page!

I see that many recommend not dipping a hen in this weather but I would still do it and then just toss her in a cage in your garage or house. The broody buster cages can take quite awhile in my experience? I don't know...

You are braver than I. I don't have a garage (in this yard) and I don't want a wet hen in the house.

It shouldn't take that long...although I've never done a suspended broody cage. I don't have enough cages. Earlier this summer, I stopped 13 broody hens overnight by moving them onto roosts once it got dark in the evening. Only one had thoughts of it in the morning...so I put her back in the back pen and that worked. That was fairly painless.

The next group was a bit more tenacious...but I kept the eggs gathered and locked them outside for part of the day. That worked as well.

However I don't have egg eaters per say. I break them lots of raw eggs myself and they aren't interested in eggs I don't feed them. Hopefully hers wouldn't peck since they've had clay eggs.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I took the eggs away from her. She eventually (after about 20 mins) stood up and went to go peck at some grit. So far, she hasn't headed back to the nest box, and isn't clucking or screeching anymore. I'll keep you all updated. @holm25, please link me to the 'Surviving Minnesota' page!

Hopefully that was enough to disturb her.
Sometimes it doesn't require much.