How to Break a Broody Hen

[bruceha2000]

I've taken my hen off the nest so many times I've lost count. She sure is committed. She was sitting in an empty nest because I remove the eggs of course, we have no roos. The other hens crack me up, they dive in her box to lay their eggs if she is outside. I gave her a plastic egg from my kids cooking set. Been over 21 days. I don't have a wire cage to break her in. I guess I'll have to get one for future use. I did just get some new chicks. Would she mother them ya think? Or best to leave them in the brooder. I'm not really set up for all I have going on. 2 8week old pullets in a pen next to my hens and 3 chicks in the garage. I let the hens in with the pullets when I'm around. The pullets hide pretty well so I haven't seen anyone picking on them. Just wish that one hen would get back to laying. I've got nothing for her to lay on so it seems like a waste of her good egg laying time. When you only have 4, 1 not laying really cuts into production.

Are the chicks really young? If so, YES put them under the broody. I just did that with the 7 I got last Wednesday (hatched Monday). Put them under my broody Black Australorp Thursday night. The other 2 broodies are in the buster and since I was not sure Zorra would take the chicks (never having done this before) I let them stay broody in the nests for 2 weeks. They are now HARD cases and will likely be in the buster for a week.

If the nest boxes are off the ground you'll need to make a brooding pen. Stick them under AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS SO DARK YOU CAN'T SEE A THING. I tried Wed night but it wasn't PITCH black yet though about all I could see was which end was her head. Could be it was my inexperience and fear she might hurt the chicks but we regrouped and were going to go out again later but ended up with a ton of rain and T-storms so we waited until Thursday night.

Stick the chick in under her wing from the back, distract her with your other hand if necessary. Zorra hit my chick holding hand (grab it over the top so it is fully in your hand but easy to release, feet on the ground) but not with the ferocity it would take to break the skin. She settled back down after the first one went in and I put in the second. Waited a few minutes and put in #3, etc. We did have a flashlight to give just enough light to see, don't shine it at the hen AT ALL, just get enough "edge light" to make sure the chick gets under.

Took this picture the morning after I put the chicks under - 4 days old:




Took this picture today - 8 days old:



If you do not decide to put them under the broody, she needs to go in the buster. Head over to the Mama Heating Pad thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update
to see a FAR better way to brood chicks than under a heat lamp. As you can see from the first picture, they DO NOT need to be kept hot for a month. It hasn't been over 65 in the barn and they come out from under Zorra a LOT. And they are a LOT quieter than Zorra and her "sisters" were when I brooded them under a heat lamp in the house for a month per conventional wisdom.

 

[SaidBlacksmith]

Hi all-
I have a question, my crested polish seems to be broody-- with the exception that she's not aggressive at all. She is at the bottom of the pecking order ( I only have 3 ladies right now) and none of my girls are very aggressive in the first place. I feel like if she were sick, she'd hide in the chicken yard somewhere not stay in the nesting box all day long.

I can bring her inside and set up a broody box, since it's pushing 100 degrees here in GA! I'm just not sure if she's really broody since she's not aggressive. She is letting the other girls lay in the box with her and then sitting on their eggs.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[bruceha2000]

Hi all-
I have a question, my crested polish seems to be broody-- with the exception that she's not aggressive at all. She is at the bottom of the pecking order ( I only have 3 ladies right now) and none of my girls are very aggressive in the first place. I feel like if she were sick, she'd hide in the chicken yard somewhere not stay in the nesting box all day long.

I can bring her inside and set up a broody box, since it's pushing 100 degrees here in GA! I'm just not sure if she's really broody since she's not aggressive. She is letting the other girls lay in the box with her and then sitting on their eggs.

Thanks for your advice!

She might be an "easy break". Do you have fake eggs in the nests? Does she sit in the nests when there are no eggs (real or fake)? If not, just keep all eggs out of the nest (collect regularly) and she will stay out as well.

 

[SaidBlacksmith]

She sits in the eggs whether there are eggs in the box, and sleeps in there too. We pull the eggs every night, but can't pull them during the day because we work long hours and get home just at sundown. So what I"m reading is that we should be pulling her out of the box whenever we can? I can have a neighbor come over and pull her out in the afternoon if that's the case!
I have fake eggs, but I've never used them- would that help any? I've had chickens for four years but this is my first broody hen! Thanks!

 

[bruceha2000]

She sits in the eggs whether there are eggs in the box, and sleeps in there too. We pull the eggs every night, but can't pull them during the day because we work long hours and get home just at sundown. So what I"m reading is that we should be pulling her out of the box whenever we can? I can have a neighbor come over and pull her out in the afternoon if that's the case!
I have fake eggs, but I've never used them- would that help any? I've had chickens for four years but this is my first broody hen! Thanks!

LUCKY!!! Of the 12 chicks I got 3 years ago this month, half would go broody. Both Partridge Chanteclers, both Faverolles, one Cubalaya and one Black Australorp. The only reason I have fewer now is because one PC just keeled over in March last year. Fine at 8 AM, dead at 11. The other was taken by a fox this past April (one EE taken last April). One Faverolles is in the buster now. The Cubalaya was in there with her but was being brooded by the Fav! I let the Cubalaya out since the Fav won't bust if she's staying hot to (unnecessarily!) keep the Cubalaya warm. She headed for the nest. But, at least for now, she seems to need an egg to "hatch" so I've taken all the plastic eggs out of the nests. Knock on wood she stays out.

I let the BA stay broody since I decided I needed more birds:
- 4 frequently broody birds (3 times this year SO FAR for the Favs and the Cubalaya, twice for the BA)
- 9 three Y/O birds will slow down on laying due to age
- Only the other BA is a decent winter layer
- 4 that go broody
- The Cubalayas aren't known to be great layers anyway
means not that many eggs.

So I got 7 chicks for Zorra to brood and she is doing great. Of course that means SHE won't lay again for I don't know how long since she has babies to care for.

The fake eggs are NOT necessary, they are supposed to tell the chickens that "this is a good place to lay eggs since someone already did". Even if you use them, once the girls are used to the nests they will lay there anyway, but they (at least mine) WILL choose a nest that already has an egg, real or fake, over an empty one.

Sleeping in the box isn't a good thing, did she do that before she went broody? Are the roosts higher than the nests? They should be because chickens feel safer higher off the ground so USUALLY they will sleep on the highest thing.

If she is only in there when there are eggs, maybe your neighbor could collect the eggs and take her out of the box. I don't know how long it will take her hormones to totally settle out if she is in the nest a good part of the day, but it can't hurt to try. They don't usually get nasty until they have been broody a while, they sort of build up to it. Or, as in my case, they know that when you pick them up they will be going in the box.

 

[h5389dade]

If a hen is just laying an egg will she still push the other eggs under her as if she were broody? I have had 3 hens go broody this month besides the one that had been broody for 2 months. Stuck them in the pen and even though it is on the ground they have all gave up after 2 days. but with the summer heat egg production is down anyways.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

If a hen is just laying an egg will she still push the other eggs under her as if she were broody? I have had 3 hens go broody this month besides the one that had been broody for 2 months. Stuck them in the pen and even though it is on the ground they have all gave up after 2 days.

but with the summer heat egg production is down anyways.

Yes - they will arrange any eggs already in the nest (usually multiple times) while they are there to lay their own.

 

[hollyester]

Thank you!
I have two anconas who have gone broody once before (I kicked them out of the coop/run during the day and they layed after a couple of days). This time they are too determined for that trick to work. Sounds like the rabbit cage is the next step.
Oh, the things we do for our flocks!

 

[h5389dade]

Yes - they will arrange any eggs already in the nest (usually multiple times) while they are there to lay their own.

Thank you!

 

[Nardo]

So my BR laid her first egg yesterday after being broody for maybe 8 days, I'm guessing. The hard thing for me was what I read in other posts here. I'm in Texas and it is 100 outside so keeping their temp down is almost impossible, and keeping them secluded is a dilemma since you want them to be able to cool off by moving if their spot gets too hot. And we both work and are gone all day so no one can take them off the nests. So I ended up tacking a piece of tin across all of the nests. This kept the others from laying and there were eggs on the ground and in corners for a couple of days (LOL), but once the broody hen couldn't SEE the nests any more, then she snapped out of hormonal crazy in almost one day. It was either: she was ready and the timing was a complete coincidence, or just getting the nests out of sight was an almost immediate fix. just offering my experience as more input. But she couldn't stay on that nest in this kind of heat without suffering direly, so I had to do something...