HOW DO I STOP A CHICKEN FROM BEING BROODY??????????????

[candychick]

One of my chickens has been broody for the past 30 days. She had eggs under her for 29 days but none of them hatched. We took the eggs out and she is still broody and laying on nothing i thought she would stop when i took the eggs out but she didnt...i tried the ice cube trick and it didnt work, she just laid on the ice cubes. I have no idea when she will quit and what other ways can i get her to stop?

 

[HEChicken]

The best way for a hen to stop being broody is for the eggs to hatch and she will switch from broody mode to mother mode. If you are able to get a couple of chicks to slip under her, you might be able to stop her that way. I did that with a broody hen, waiting until night time when she was sleepy, to make the switch. I grabbed the eggs, slipped the chicks under, and in the morning she figured her eggs hatched and set about mothering them.

 

[zbit]

This thread is long but full of ideas that may work for you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/181289/how-to-break-a-broody-hen

 

[candychick]

The best way for a hen to stop being broody is for the eggs to hatch and she will switch from broody mode to mother mode. If you are able to get a couple of chicks to slip under her, you might be able to stop her that way. I did that with a broody hen, waiting until night time when she was sleepy, to make the switch. I grabbed the eggs, slipped the chicks under, and in the morning she figured her eggs hatched and set about mothering them.

Lol...Thats a really good idea!!!!! But we really didnt want babies we were going to give them away so i dont know that i would do that ...

any other ideas?

 

[candychick]

@zbit...thanks, but do you know of any other way than the cage...i dont really want to do that

 

[Our Roost]

A broody hen is sometimes hard to come by when you would like to hatch some chicks. You have no control over when they might go broody. Mine went broody in late fall and I didn't want chicks born in the winter months. I had that same problem with one of my buff orpington hens. Hence, every time I would take the eggs away from her, she would steal and carry some more over to her nest from another bird. I finally let her sit for almost 30 days and nothing happened. It was too cold and she kept leaving and coming back. I was told the eggs will burst if not taken from her soon, so I discarded the rotten eggs.
My solution was to literally pick her up and move her out of the coop and into the run area to free graze. I had to lock the coop up for a few hours until she got the idea that she wasn't going to get my goat so to speak and sneak back in! I did that for a few days until she finally broke the habit and broodiness. She wasn't happy to say the least but went back to normal after a few days and is still a good egg layer.
Another thing I noticed is that the other hens challenged her when she came off the nest. A pecking order dominance they must have had to settle amongst ladies. I was told an estrogen level is present when they are broody and the other birds can sense it. This sometimes sets off a defense barrier and on goes the battle! I hope this information helps a little. Good luck and be patient.

 

[candychick]

A broody hen is sometimes hard to come by when you would like to hatch some chicks. You have no control over when they might go broody. Mine went broody in late fall and I didn't want chicks born in the winter months. I had that same problem with one of my buff orpington hens. Hence, every time I would take the eggs away from her, she would steal and carry some more over to her nest from another bird. I finally let her sit for almost 30 days and nothing happened. It was too cold and she kept leaving and coming back. I was told the eggs will burst if not taken from her soon, so I discarded the rotten eggs.
My solution was to literally pick her up and move her out of the coop and into the run area to free graze. I had to lock the coop up for a few hours until she got the idea that she wasn't going to get my goat so to speak and sneak back in! I did that for a few days until she finally broke the habit and broodiness. She wasn't happy to say the least but went back to normal after a few days and is still a good egg layer.
Another thing I noticed is that the other hens challenged her when she came off the nest. A pecking order dominance they must have had to settle amongst ladies. I was told an estrogen level is present when they are broody and the other birds can sense it. This sometimes sets off a defense barrier and on goes the battle! I hope this information helps a little. Good luck and be patient.

I actually just tried that...i locked her out of the coop...i came back in about half an hour and she was laying on the ground so i opened the coop back up

 

[Our Roost]

Dahhhh! Did you feel sorry for her????? Give her a bowl of meal worms while your at it and pat her on the head!

 

[candychick]

Lol not really...i would just rather her lay in a nesting box than on the ground

 

[Betsy57]

I just put my hens in a cage by themself for a day or two and they stop being broody. When you want a broody hen, you can't get one. When you have one, you can't stop her from being broody. Murphy's Law. But, like I said, the cage has worked for me on at least a half dozen times. Good "luck"