How do I stop my Hen from being broody????

[chickenscratch]

My Buff Orp. went broody last may and we indulged her by putting some fertilized eggs under her (we don't have a rooster). Now shes doing it again and we don't want any chicks. How can we stop this behavior?

 

[Chirpy]

The best way I've heard of is to put her in a wire cage (like a dog crate) with NO bedding, just food and water. After a few days or week she should snap out of it.

 

[augiedranch]

ive always heard you cant! some people say dont let eggs accumulate in a nest. not even more than one. and some people say u could hang them in a cage over the ground.. but ive never tried that.. .. my friend had one that kept trying to sit. but she kept taking the eggs from her. she ended up sitting for 7 weeks!!! omg, that hen was so skinny scrawny and sick... its awful.. i dont know what happend to it... died or lived im not sure..

just get one fertile egg.. let her hatch and raise it. its just one chick then it could be given away as soon as its old enough.. i dont know thats tough that shes not laying and wanting to sit. sorry!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

How sweet of you to indulge her last spring!

I like my girls to be broody so I have never tried any methods but have read of numerous ways to stop it.
One way is to take all the eggs from under her, which I am sure you have probably already done. And then you could put her up in a cage off the floor so the air is constantly moving under her rear end. This keeps her from keeping her rump warm and I believe that takes 3 days but don't hold me to it.
Another, more vicious, way I have heard is to take them by the feet and dunk them upside down in a cold bucket of water quickly. One day I may try that just to see if it works but so far I haven't found a hen I dislike enough to do it to, although the roosters are another story.

And then I have heard the theory that you can't really break one but instead let them stay on an empty nest till they get sick of it and just go back to being a socializing chicken but that may take a while and you won't get eggs for some time.
Good luck!

 

[newchickmom]

I know! I know!

just let my grandsons in the coop for a while

I had 4 broodies at the same time, until my grandkids were visiting last Saturday. The boys are 7 and 4 and are crazy about the chickens. The were in the hen house for about an hour just petting and holding the hens. The broodies are very easy for them to catch, so they are the ones that get held the most. The next day, No more broodies!

 

[Wynette]

Dunk them in a bucket of cold water, upside down? SHEESH! That does sound awfully nasty!

 

[Beekissed]

Nope, not nasty and it doesn't have to be cold water. Just any old water standing in a bucket seems to do the trick. If done quickly enough it just seems to give the hen a shock, doesn't even penetrate the feathers and leaves her shaking herself off and cursing you. Seems to get her mind off that nest, I can tell you! Might have to repeat it. If you want this behavior stopped and nothing else works, this is one option. My hens have had no ill effects from this treatment and it has been effective.