How do you time the length of broody behavior?

[nuchickontheblock]

So I have a broody who has been glazed over in an empty nest box for 5 weeks tomorrow. But she had a hidden nest with 8 eggs in it (probably took her close to 2 weeks to lay that many) when we found it and removed the nest and blocked the area.

So would you consider her broody for 5 weeks or the additional time that she was preparing to set?? Poor thing doesn't seem to be ready to snap out of it.

 

[galanie]

I'm not sure it matters how long she's been broody. It sure sounds like she's been broody a very long time either way you time it. You'll hear lots of suggestions on breaking a broody, but putting her in a cage with a wire bottom that isn't on the ground is best and most humane. That way she can't have heat on her breast and in a few days to a week she'll no longer be broody.

 

[Lisa202]

I just broke my broody by simply taking her eggs away each day. She started sitting, collecting and stealing eggs. Each day I would take the eggs and push her out of the nest box, or take her out of the coop altogether. It took about 3 weeks but she's finally over it. This would have been her 3rd hatch in just 6 months.

I have had 3 go broody on me in the past 2 months and I never had to resort to the wire cage thing to break them. I just kept taking the eggs everyday and pushing them off the nest whenever I went out to the coop. Maybe I have easy broodies to break, or maybe I'm just lucky, I don't know, but I would try this for 2 weeks and see if she gives up. If not and she's stubborn, you could try the cage method.

If yours was sitting for 5 weeks and you think it took her 2 weeks to gather the eggs, then I'm thinking that those eggs were ready to hatch?

 

[nuchickontheblock]

I tried the ice bath and cage method a while back, but might try the cage again. She is just way out there crazy! I take her off the empty nest about 4 times a day, but she gets to clucking and agitated and keeps trying to get back in the coop. I think we'll do the cage again tomorrow. I feel bad for her because she is the bottom of the pecking order and vision impaired.