How to Break a Broody Hen

[Sunny Side Up]

Some hens need more intervention than others to break their broodiness. Some are fairly easily discouraged, others need long confinement in a Broody Buster. They primarily need cool(ish) air flowing up underneath them to re-set their mood. It would be smart to pre-plan a good place for such a cage while you're building your coop.

 

[Chikenbutwut]

I'm not sure you need to put her in a crate at night?? You just need to keep her off the nesting box so making that with a door would do the same thing and mean she isn't on her own and won't get cold in winter.
Correct me if I'm wrong though??

I wanted a cage (wire dog crate) in case she were particularly hard headed and difficult to break from being broody (and since I'm getting all bantams, who're infamous for being broody, that could end up being the case). Since I don't have an area like a garage, shed or basement, I wanted an area in the coop to keep a cage to put her in where the air could get up under her to help break the broodiness, but where she'll still be warm enough on cold nights. Thus why I planned to build a coop large enough to put a cage in. Using the light up over the cage would be to 1. help keep her warm on cold nights, and 2. so that it wouldn't be dark, as I understand broody hens like it dark.

Another reason for using a broody cage in the coop would be that I'd be afraid that if I just blocked the nest box off, she'd just take up residence in another one before I got out in time in the morning to keep her from popping her butt in there, lol!

Some hens need more intervention than others to break their broodiness. Some are fairly easily discouraged, others need long confinement in a Broody Buster. They primarily need cool(ish) air flowing up underneath them to re-set their mood. It would be smart to pre-plan a good place for such a cage while you're building your coop.

Thanks!

Would it be okay to let her out in the run, like I said, in an exercise pen with the part where she could see the coop covered so she can't see it, but can still see her flock mates? This way she could be out during the day to stretch her legs and scratch and whatnot, but can't see or get back in the coop. Then putting her back in the cage at night when I put the rest of the flock in the coop. Or should I just keep her in the cage the whole time?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

It's okay to keep them confined for the 3-4 days needed to break their broody spell. Chickens have thousands of years' worth of domestication in their DNA, they're not wild eagles yearning for their freedom. When you let her out you can see if she's more interested in staying in the run to scratch & peck or tries to go back to her nest spot after a brief dust bath.

Your plan to incorporate space for a Broody Buster within your coop sounds smart, especially in your cold climate. But you shouldn't need a lamp for heat if the other hens aren't using one. And if your coop is dimly lit you could either properly wire it for a light or just use a battery-powered lamp to un-inspire your broody on days when it's too cold to put her cage outside in the daytime. I've heard too many stories of coop fires caused by lamps used for warmth.

But you may wish to re-consider the broody factor, especially with keeping bantams whose nature is to brood. Some hens, even bantams, are easy to discourage and may seldom if ever try again. Other hens more frequently cycle between laying & brooding, especially in the spring, and it seems unkind to try and change their deep-seated instincts.

You may want to also add some broody pens in your coop, little enclosures with room for a nest and a square foot of room to stand and get food & water. Don't put them where the other hens will see & get similarly inspired. If you don't have fertile eggs to set you should be able to find others in your area who have some. If you don't want to continue to add new birds to your flock many folks will be happy to have your hen hatch eggs for them and can take the chicks back after they're 4-6 weeks old.

 

[LordLucan]

I have a pair of Silkies among my little flock that keep going broody. I've got lucky with our cold weather a few times that seems to temporarily break them for a couple of days, but after a short time they go straight back to being broody and sitting in the coop all day. Is this normal?

I think we are doing all the right things, collecting eggs daily, etc, I can't tell what's causing them to keep going broody every few days.

Anyone got any advice?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

This is what is normal for these hens. You can't fight City Hall, nor Mother Nature. Silkies tend to be a very broody breed, many folks keep them for that very reason, so that they'll incubate eggs for them.

Some hens have the broody urge so strongly they'll set on fake eggs, even an empty nest. There is not much you can do to break their broodiness, you'll frustrate yourself and annoy the giblets out of these hens.

It's like trying to break a retreiver dog from its urge to fetch.

You should either give these hens a place to brood and some fertile eggs to set, or trade them to someone who wants hens that go broody.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Here is a discussion on when NOT to break a broody... https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/675136/when-not-to-break-a-broody-hen

 

[Ullie]

It seems I've been answering this question a lot lately, so I thought I'd write it all up to better show up in a search on the subject. Please feel free to add your wisdom to the topic.

A hen "goes broody" when she wants to set continuously on a clutch of eggs for 21 days and have chicks hatch out. Some hens will never go broody, some will go occasionally, some go very frequently, even weeks after leaving their last batch of chicks. It's difficult to "make" a hen go broody, this mood is determined by her own instincts, hormones, voices in her head, instructions beamed down from her Mother Ship.

The best way to tell a hen has gone broody is when she wants to stay in her nest spot at night instead of going up to the roost to sleep. She'll puff her feathers out, flatten her body over the eggs, growl or shriek if disturbed, and often peck or bite any hand that dares come close. She may be setting on real eggs, fake eggs, golf balls, or imaginary eggs, it doesn't matter, they're important to her.

Of course you can allow her to incubate the eggs she's collected, or swap them for other fertile eggs from your own flock or someone else's. How to do that would be the topic of a different thread. This is about what to do if you want to break your Broody's mood and get her back to the work of laying eggs.

I don't think it breaks a hen's heart to break her broody mood. You have to give her points for being determined, but really, her mood can be adjusted without doing mental or emotional damage to her. Some hens are easier to refocus than others.

With some hens, all they need is a few times of being physically removed from the nest and carried out to the yard where their flockmates are ranging. A little bribe of cracked corn will help them see the benefits of not brooding.

Other hens may need a different treatment. The best way I know to break a determined broody hen is to confine her to a wire-bottomed cage, like a rabbit or parrot cage, and place that cage up on sawhorses, blocks, or hang it from the rafters, so that air can flow up underneath. Provide food and water, but NO bedding. Keep her in there for 3-4 days, unless she lays an egg earlier.

Let her out one morning and watch what she does. If she hurries back to the nest spot, she'll need a few more days in the Broody Buster. But if she goes back to hang out with her flockmates, her mood has changed.
Repeat whenever necessary. broody?

not broody!

What do you suggest to do when the weather is still below freezing (Ontario). Should I be concerned that her feet get too cold or frostbitten. Should I try and put a perch in the dog crate?
Thanks

 

[Ullie]

PS I brought her in the house and put her in the dog crate.

 

[aldarita]

I was successful in breaking one of my hen's broodiness. I read all the posts regarding this issue and I believe that besides taking the broody hen away from the nest box you also have to cool her a bit. It seems that the con census is that broodiness has to do with hormones and when you put her on a cage you need to have some space between the bottom of the cage and the ground so cool air can come thru to cool her. Do not add any nesting material on the cage, just food and water and a comfy roost where she can sleep.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

What do you suggest to do when the weather is still below freezing (Ontario). Should I be concerned that her feet get too cold or frostbitten. Should I try and put a perch in the dog crate?
Thanks

You can have a perch/roost in your Broody Buster cage, just no bedding. And have it set up on blocks or sawhorses, or hanging from rafters, so there is good airflow underneath her. Here in South Fla we don't have to deal with below freezing, but I guess if your other chickens are okay in that weather, your broody should be also. Just not in a cage set right on the ground. Your solution to put her Broody Buster cage indoors, with a roost, sounds great. If she still acts broody indoors, set the cage up higher.