How to Break a Broody Hen

[4Hgirl]

Update: the wire cage method worked after over a week. Also as soon as she was caged she was eating ravenously. We tried letting her out of the cage after a couple days and she litterally ran to her make believe nest in my flower garden. After a full week in the cage she came out and was happy to run around in the yard with the rest of the chickens. She is gaining weight again. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[chicknmom]

It is not cruel at all - compare their care and living conditions to battery chickens in conventional chicken farms!!!!!

 

[Kwewu7]

I have a somewhat tough decision to make and need some advice. My recently adopted 3 year old Barred Rock was a former so-called 'free range' production facility hen. The toes of one foot curl under, and she has permanent scarring where a leg band dug into flesh. Poor girl.

Well, she went broody 5 days ago. Every morning I remove her from the nest and shoo her out with the rest of the gang for food/water. After a few hours, I let the other ladies back in the coop to lay and of course she goes right back to a nest box and sets up camp.

I've noticed that since she's been sitting so much, her foot has been worse. She used to be able to extend the toes with walking pressure, now the foot is fairly crippled.

My question is - should I put her in a wire bottomed cage to break her of the broodiness, for however long it takes, and risk further damage and pain to her foot? Temps here are in the upper 90s-100s and letting her sit in the box all day in a stiffling hot coop is not a wise option. I need to break her somehow.

 

[CHICKENRANCH14]

This is how I have been able to break mine. I take hen out of the coop during day and let free range. If you have another hen who is not laying, she would be good company. I place things in nesting boxes at night because my hens roost in an enclosed coop at night with plenty of ventilation. So far introducing my two that went broody to my younger girls age 3 months, and allowing them to be together with me in the temporary coop has worked out well. I have not hung a cage before, so cannot comment on that part. I also have a somewhat lame girl that runs like Chester with a wooden leg. When she lays down to long it is hard for her to get up and get going. So I can understand where you are coming from. Thank goodness you provided a chance for a loving home.

 

[Hermes]

Hi! I am not care about the eggs so much but currently I have only one hen and a rooster. My hen decided to get broody and now my little rooster is feeling sad. I would like to stopping her but I didn't knew how to do it without to make her sad... Obviously I want both of my chickens happy not the only one, regardless which this will be!
I will definitely try this out at the morning and I will let you know!!!

 

[apollo]

hummm... that is hard to say...me my self i would not put her in a wire bottom cage... to dangerus .... she has got to have shavings for the bad foot but not to much she will still need some fermness to help her with foot... i have a broody one that i just got done braking... wire cage... had to do it twice to get her but also at the same time i have another hen that has done something to the leg or some part of leg and i keep her in a pin next to the other hens that is around 2' wide and 4' long with a nest box on the outside wall so it does not take up room... for two days but let her out in the evening to forage the yard... and back in at bed time so she can not get on perch and heart it when it was time to come back down... it has been about two weeks now and she is doing better and purching ... i just make shure she has soft floors to land on... i have to make her rest once in a while or she over does it... she is getting spoiled now along with my wyer necked one... that is a big long storie in its self.... good luck

 

[maddieo4]

Hi one of my little pekins have been very cranky the last few weeks anytime I would go near my other pekin she would come over and bite me I thought when she laid her firat few eggs she would settle down like my other three girls have but now she has become even crankier and any time we go near her she starts to bite. How do I stop her doing this? She only does it to people.

 

[Nofowlplay]

I have a somewhat tough decision to make and need some advice. My recently adopted 3 year old Barred Rock was a former so-called 'free range' production facility hen. The toes of one foot curl under, and she has permanent scarring where a leg band dug into flesh. Poor girl.

Well, she went broody 5 days ago. Every morning I remove her from the nest and shoo her out with the rest of the gang for food/water. After a few hours, I let the other ladies back in the coop to lay and of course she goes right back to a nest box and sets up camp.

I've noticed that since she's been sitting so much, her foot has been worse. She used to be able to extend the toes with walking pressure, now the foot is fairly crippled.

My question is - should I put her in a wire bottomed cage to break her of the broodiness, for however long it takes, and risk further damage and pain to her foot? Temps here are in the upper 90s-100s and letting her sit in the box all day in a stiffling hot coop is not a wise option. I need to break her somehow.

I am breaking my broody by leaving her in a dog crate. It has a solid hard plastic floor and coated wire on all other sides.

I put her food and water in large bird seed cups that hang on the wire.
She is gradually changing her mood away from broody. I let her out to run around with the others and see how she does. If she goes broody again I put her back in the crate It is lined with newspapers. I had to do it. She was starving and I could feel her breast bone. I suppose a wire bottomed crate would work better but I don't want to do that yet. The crate is elevated on bricks in the roofed pen. She is getting plenty of breezes and sunlight. If there is no breeze you could set a fan near her set on low. She has spent 3 nights in there so far. It is not instant but it is working. I am also making sure she eats and drinks have been giving her high quality feed with extra calcium. Let us know how it goes!

Sounds like she is in good hands!

 

[gmomfarms]

I have a Buff Orpington hen who has sat an empty nest for more than a month. If I block the nest box, she just moves to another one. I had golf balls in some of the boxes for the pullets who are just starting to lay and she would collect the golf balls from all the other boxes and put them under her so I removed them all again. I have put ziplock bags of ice under her and she sits on them. I have removed her from the nest so many times I can't even count. We no longer have a Roo, so there are no fertile eggs to put under her. She is frustrating. I may have to try to the wire cage idea if I can find one, nothing else has worked.

 

[Nofowlplay]

I have a Buff Orpington hen who has sat an empty nest for more than a month. If I block the nest box, she just moves to another one. I had golf balls in some of the boxes for the pullets who are just starting to lay and she would collect the golf balls from all the other boxes and put them under her so I removed them all again. I have put ziplock bags of ice under her and she sits on them. I have removed her from the nest so many times I can't even count. We no longer have a Roo, so there are no fertile eggs to put under her. She is frustrating. I may have to try to the wire cage idea if I can find one, nothing else has worked.

My Ameraucana is no longer broody. She spent about 4 nights in her plastic bottomed dog crate with coated wire sides and top. She was in there a good part of the days too with her seed cups filled with feed and water. I was letting her out to dust bathe and mingle. If she nested again back she went. It really was fairly easy. She is out running around with the group again!