How to Break a Broody Hen

[bruceha2000]

Help!! one of my Blackrocks has gone broody, shes in isolation in the dog cage, but the other 3 hens have also stopped laying???? I had to take her out as they'd been pulling her head feathers out, she looks a bit like emu!! She is the lowest in pecking order, she's still broody, all fluffed up an clucky, but I'm wondering why the others have stopped laying too? Shes the one furthest from
the camera - naturally!

Maybe they are going broody as well. I hope not!!
If "dog cage" means the standard plastic box with solid floor, I think you will have to do more to break her. The presumed 'answer' is to get them off the ground so they can't stay all heated up underneath. My PC is on day 3 of being in the broody box (just a rectangular 'box' made of 2x2s and 1/2" hardware cloth on all sides, top and bottom) sitting on the roosts in the coop. She and the Favorelles are tough to crack.

My EE and Favorelles are picked on my the Anconas and have a similar lack of head and neck feathers. Won't get Anconas again, not for a mixed flock. VERY sorry to see that it happen so badly in a single breed flock.

Bruce

 

[Barbi colson]

thanks Bruce, it was the wire dog cage the dog used to sleep in, i didnt lift her off the floor, it was sat on grass, however has worked. 2 days and shes back with the gang, on further investigation i found out problem of non laying in the others, she had soiled the bedding, it was shredded paper, now changed back to straw, and seems ok, actually found an egg on the floor of the shed they roost in (chicken house is inside the shed - they only use it to lay, they like perching on the bench)

Poor broody hen, is the bottom of the pile & got pecked when I fed them this morning, she seems ok

Thanks for your thoughts

Barbi

 

[bruceha2000]

May or may not help but if you have one Alpha that is picking on the "low" bird, you can try being the Alpha yourself. I've heard this can work to slow down a rooster that is aggressive toward people: shame them in front of their harem and make them LOW bird on the roost by making them live on the floor.

My Ancona are aggressive toward the other birds, especially Zia. She would mount all the other chickens (well, not Zorra, the BIG Black Australorp) and especially with one of the EEs (the one that was taken in April) so badly that she lost a lot of back feathers. I finally had enough and chased Zia down when she jumped Andromeda. Once I caught her (which took some doing and scared the whole flock half to death), I carried her upside down by her feet and put her in the broody box on the floor of the coop for 3 days. She went into moult when she came out, don't know if that was circumstance or partly due to stress.

She was plenty cowed around me and not as aggressive toward the other birds after I let her out. She stayed a distance from them for some time and from me for longer. She's gotten a bit more aggressive again, as is Yue (the other Ancona) but they seem to be more equal with Yue jumping Zia on occasion. In any case (knock on wood) I don't see ripped out back feathers any more and I don't see her jumping the other birds too much. If I see her doing it I can yell ZIA! and she will get off. Yue does too. I bet I could yell FIRE! in the same voice and they would get off since they really don't know what we weird looking chickens are saying any more than we know what they are saying.

Bruce

 

[goosegirl6]

Hi everyone!
I will definitely try this "Broody Buster" cage tonight. I currently have 3 broodies, one of which is taking care of hatchery chicks. The other 2 are both Chanteclers. Rose has been broody for monthes, and Bear went broody back in april. I let Bear sit on some eggs, and 1 hatched. Just a few weeks after she was separated she went broody again. I would have let Rose hatch some eggs, but I don't have a rooster anymore and I got too many birds. LOL!

 

[Motts]

Hi all,

So I have a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte that went broody 1 month ago. 3.5 days in the elevated broody cage stopped the behavior for about 2 weeks.

She is broody again.

This time I put her in the cage about 2-3 days after she stopped laying eggs. She spent a whopping 10 days in the cage and is still broody. She got a little less grumpy and would spend time foraging with the girls when let out but she did not stop. I gave up and she has been back in the nest box for about a week and seems to be getting worse. If I pull her out she sits on the ground for 1-2 minutes before moving around.

Now my broody cage is in an enclosed coop that has a door with access to light. It has also been warmer weather with some days in the upper 80's. Would this make a difference.

I have an enclosed run and was thinking about setting her up in the broody cage outdoors, but do I have to worry about overnight temperatures?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Marci

 

[CHICKENRANCH14]

I presently have a buff orpington that entered this phase as I was leaving for a week. Not a great time as my care takers had to do all the work first week. At night I put soccer balls in nests so she can't get in. During the day I have her out free ranging with one of my 3 yr old chickens who is molting right now. She is roaming around and visits the baby chick pen thru the wire which is separate. Hope this week she will want to join her fellow sisters back in the coop as they have a grand time in there. I will update if I have any changes.

 

[Flachickman]

As I posted previously, my BSL is back to normal after 3 days in isolation, she rejoined her sister and has matured since the broody days to the point that they are both laying 2 ounce eggs daily. I used a portable chicken tractor that I built to expose them to fresh green grass daily.

for the isolation pen.

 

[aldarita]

I guess it has been "broody time" for a while. I have had several broodies so far but thankfully one at a time until 2 days ago when i got a second one. I have 2 broody breaker cages that I am using right now, both of them are big enough to accommodate more than one broody. My question to you all broody experts is: Is it OK to put more than one broody per cage? I have read in this thread that some people put more than one hen, but won't they fight all the time?

 

[aggie343]

Hi I have 2 broodys at the mo I've got a wired cage and put 1 in it today cos it's only small. But had to put her back in her nest as it got late because my coop isn't big enough to put the cage in. I felt really sorry for her and was worried about her been really stressed in the cage . Will it all work if she is only in it during the day not sure what to do only had the chickens a few weeks and didn't know they went like this . Upto a week ago they were running around happy. Now they seem really sad. Please help

 

[Flachickman]

I felt the same way ,but after reading all the help at this site ,I stuck by my "guns" and kept my broody girl isolated for 3 days. She didn't lay an egg for 5 days after I put her back in the coop, but she is back to her pleasant self.