How to Break a Broody Hen

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Yeah she must have slipped it between a thigh and her breast when I lifted her for her checks. She's a snapper so I would make those checks pretty brief. LOL. That Welsummer is laying longer than I expected her too with her first molt coming as well. Steady Eddy with that girl.

Anyways I'm thinking I need to set up my broody hutch in the Run for her to give her more privacy and a good safe place to focus on this chick. She should be molting this fall. Kitty will be two this next spring. She looks rough (from rooster treading and 18 month old feathers) and I'm a little concerned for her. Setting her up in her own hutch I can hide some protein treats for her too. From the others. Get her in good shape for whatever. Mother Nature does tend to make things work out. And I can help Kitty too.

Or do you mean the chick itself and when that bird lays/molts as a fall chick?
 
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I just recently broke my brown leghorn hen from her broodiness, but now she seems very distant and not as friendly as she used to be. :c She hasn't started laying again and she hasn't given any interest in the nesting boxes at all really. But she's eating, drinking, and running with my other hens normally. Is this common, or is she still being broody?

I don't know if this is important or not, but my hens are all 6 months old and my brown leghorn in question, Becky, was the first to start laying about a month and a half ago. A few of my other hens are laying as well, but not regularly.
 
Bogtown Chick said:
Or do you mean the chick itself and when that bird lays/molts as a fall chick?
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Any given chick. If born in April or May will likely lay starting in Oct-Nov and lay through the winter, spring, summer until they moult in the Fall. Then stop until late Feb, early Mar in future years. At least that has been my experience. If born in the fall won't be old enough to lay until spring and those are the ones I think may not lay their first winter after they have started. Given I live up north, it is certainly possible that chicks born in the hot parts react differently.

I got 2 Welsummer girls (Betty and Veronica) this past April, waiting for them to start laying. They are the bravest of the 7 April chicks, willing to eat out of my hand. One of the Exchequer Leghorns will as well though the bigger birds (the ELs are SMALL) scare her off. The EE and Trouble the Barnevelder rooster will eat as well but they are more nervous. The other EL (who laid her first egg yesterday at 19 weeks, 4 days) and Trill, the Barnevelder pullet will run for the hills if I try to hand feed them.

ChickenTater said:
Is this common, or is she still being broody?
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If she isn't interested in the nest boxes she isn't broody. She likely is peeved you stuffed her in a box but she'll get over it soon enough.
 
I see what your saying. I've had June chicks even go all winter and not lay until February. Yah those low photo hours hold'em I think but then I've had a few pullets give me Christmas presents too. Lol. We'll see but my welsummer hen was a late bloomer.
Excited for you to get your eggs. They are beautiful and I find the welsummer very friendly and the rooster too. Easy on the hens. Never tried spurring me or the kids. I like 'em...
 
Meyer shows the Welsummers mature "moderately early" whatever that means. Says the Barnevelders are "slow" though that doesn't describe Trouble, he was obvious at 3 weeks and is a big boy at 20 weeks. Maybe they are only concerned with egg laying on the maturity thing.
 
We had three broodies and we were too dumb to realize. We are new at this and they all look so alike we got chicken bling for each of them. But nesting you don't see the bling. Anyway after reading this thread I thought "Hey those hens in the nesting boxes at dusk might not be laying". We had just thought that there was lots of egg laying going on. One, Robin, had a bunch of poopy eggs under her and a bare tummy. So we had been doing the stage one fixes mentioned here.
This afternoon DH checked for a broody and there was a hen in the nesting box. He tried to look at her butt to check for what he read online. The hen got all upset and went "bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak" and stomped off with an egg falling out of her as she landed on the ground. She wasn't broody. Egg was fine. The Hen was Queen chicken who hadn't been affectionate but she got loving and liked it.
 
I have had a broody lavender bantam hen. She has been broody for at least 3 weeks! We have her in a wire bottomed cage made specifically for breaking broodies. But this isn't working. I have cooled her off in water, kept her in the cage almost always.....not sure what else to do. When I let her out when the coop is closed, she still puffs up and screams. And boy does this draw the other hen's! They enjoy chasing her around. Her broody noise annoys them so bad. Yesterday, there was a chick fight with the broody bantam in the middle of it- I had to cage her back up. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am to the point where I am thinking if selling her. She does this at least 2 or 3 times a year. Thank you in advance!
 

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