How to Break a Broody Hen

[biddyboo]

Here is our solution, much to our dismay...our broody BR hen showed all the symptoms described in the posts above, determined to stay on the next box. We have only hens, no roosters, so there was no way she was going to have a hatch. We went on line to search for fertile eggs we could buy: found none in reasonable distance. We went on country drive, searching for chicken yards, stopping and chatting, asking to buy fertile eggs for her and finally we were able to buy a half dozen. As soon as we set them in her next, she popped off, refused to sit on them, and joined the rest of the flock, broody no longer. So, what gives? ~G

 

[Vanessabuffsnsilkies]

I have a broody silkie who was sitting in a nest box with nothing in it, I took her off constantly and she fussed and hopped back up there. I also dunked her into a bucket of cold water several times to see if that would work. Did feel guilty and brought her in the house and wrapped a towel around her...

but she still went back in the nest box on her imaginary eggs. I was looking into buying some fertile eggs for her...

anyway, one day she just appeared outside with everyone else and she's been back to normal ever since.

 

[alwayswantedchicks]

Last weekend the granddaughter and her little friend were visiting with us. I was in the kitchen fixing dinner and stopped to check on them. I caught them in the chicken yard, catching chickens by the tail and dunking them into a tank of water! Needless to say, they are banned but more to the point of this thread, later that night one of the hens that got dunked was cozied up in a nest and has been sitting ever since. Could that have caused her to go broody? I didn't have the heart to push her off for a day since she had such a rough day before but then when I did push her off she went right back, fussing all the way. Haven't put her into our broody jail this week due to the nasty cold rain and omg the mud. Our broody jail is pretty dark so I'm going out and set up a small flourescent drop light in it. My husband arranged to get some fertile eggs (we're rooless) tomorrow but since she's already been on the nest a week shouldn't I go ahead and break her broodiness. Of course, I could just let her go, put the eggs under her, and she'll decide to get up herself too. And if she did sit on the eggs, they hatch, will they survive since this is alreay late October (in the mountains-it's already cold). I've got 21 hens, so I don't have a lot of room for more than 2 broody's at a time. They share the henhouse and about 1/2 acre of double fenced 'freerange' portion of our place with 15 guineas. We've been lucky so far, no predators-4 legged or winged. Broody jail or nestbox...

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Well, I guess that's another way to break a broody hen, enlist Ol' Murphy to assist you.

Somewhere in the universe there's a mathematical formula that proves how the further you drive and/or the more $$$ you spend on obtaining fertile eggs for a potential broody the more likely she will be to break her spell as you reach under her to place those eggs in her nest.

Alwayswantedchicks, you could leave your broody on the nest until you get some fertile eggs, I've had hens who set for over 6 weeks, ones who didn't get their first clutch to hatch so I replaced them with fresh fertile eggs that did hatch. I don't think the dunking caused her to go broody, the voices must have been speaking to her already & it was a coincidence.

But I don't know about the chicks' cold-weather care at this time of year. I'm certain the hen could keep them warm & well at the start, but you'll have the care of them whenever she decides to leave them. That could be as early as 4 weeks, or some time later, it all depends on the hen.

 

[alwayswantedchicks]

Ok, I didn't do what I said I was going to do, not exactly anyways. We got some fertile eggs, marked them, and presented them to Cookie, our broody hen, right in the laying nest box in the main coop. She's been sitting on them pretty much constantly for 18 days and nights. We feed her by hand right where she's sitting and fixed her a dish of water right at the nest box. So she's been eating and drinking. So, since it's close to hatching day, & I've been reading and reading all the posts about broody's sitting and hatching. Yesterday I cleaned out the broody pen (4x8) really good and put fresh straw in it with a great nest box. I fixed the warming lamp with a regular light bulb (60 watt i think) and fixed some good food and fresh water just a few feet from the nest box. I wouldn't have minded sitting in there. We waited till dark and picked her up easily. We moved her and the eggs to the broody pen. She walked around a bit, checking things out, ate and drank some, then settled back down on the eggs. We went back down a little while later to check on her, all was fine. This morning I checked on her again about 9am and she was off her eggs. I reached in to put some more food in her dish and reached over to feel the eggs. They were cold! While I had the door open, she got out. I left the door open hoping she will go back to her eggs. Should I give it up or will she come back? Will the eggs be any good? Should I put the lamp on them close enough to warm them?

Several hours later...

I went back out to check a little while ago, she's sitting back on the empty laying nest in the coop! I took her off and carried her around to the pen we fixed for her with her eggs. She hopped back outside and went right back to the original nest. I carried the eggs inside, tried to candle them. I have no idea what I'm looking at. Looks like an egg (they're brown eggs) to me. I have a warmer on the eggs (a heating pad on low). Is it too late for them? Should I put them back into the original nest and let her sit on them a few more days? Should I just give up and put her into a broody buster now? I don't want to even think about what's inside those eggs. But should I crack one and see if I've even got good eggs anyway?
Oh that sounds sick.

Thanks for putting up with my endless questions.

 

[clucky2]

My silkie was broooody. Into the rabbit cage for 5 days. Kept her in the sunlight. Let her out. Now she's all better and back with the girls. That was last week, and today she laid an egg!

 

[alwayswantedchicks]

I'm not even going to let myself fret over the eggs she was sitting on. They were so cold and after I warmed them back up and slipped them back into the nest, she got back off and stayed off of them. She spent the night on the roost pole with the rest of the girls and was one of the first girls out of the coop this morning. Pretty safe to say the spell was broken. Sad for the eggs but at least she's ok. Thanks for all the help and support. Next time I get a broody, I'm sticking to the broody breaking plan! Since we're rooless, life will be simpler. Thanks everybody.

 

[cackler]

alwayswanted chicks - after reading your posting I had the thought that maybe they weren't good eggs and she figured that out. I mean, by this time she would be able to tell I would think.

I know I've read that the hens will turn the eggs that they know need to be turned while in the nest - maybe she realized things weren't going well and that she needed to move on. Sounds like you did all that you could do with her. I've had a couple of broody hens that I've wanted to break. What worked for me was a dark shed and a wire box that we found on our farm - it's probably 4 feet by 3 feet so not small but it works fine. We just shut the girls up in the shed for a couple of days and that has done the trick. Doesn't seem to matter that the cage is on the ground and that it's dark. The confinement itself did the trick for us.

 

[alwayswantedchicks]

Hey cackler, I did think about that too. We got the eggs from a neighbor who has a rooster. His hens are sex links like most of ours. It was only eight eggs but I've read on posts that at 18 days or so they could be heard or would even move. We didn't notice any of that but also weren't hanging out at the nest except to pet Cookie-to keep her tame to us and feed her, which was several times a day. We were afraid to rock the boat or the hen to peek at the eggs much for fear she would abandon them. Obviously we're new at this and very dumb at it too. When I brought them inside they don't look any different from the eggs gathered this morning. Actually the eggs gathered this morning are still a little warm. I figured we'd go out to the laying nest to get eggs and find Cookie cozied up in a nest ready to try again. Thankfully she's not. yet.

I gotta figure out how to use those cute chicky emoticons and stuff. They're just too cute.

 

[cackler]

Quote:
Just click on the More Smilies in blue font that's right above where you are typing to post your reply - they'll all show up then for ya.

We have just been in this chicken biz since April so I'm a real newbie as well - I've read a bunch - expecially on this site as it seems that everything you could EVER want to know about chickens (and other birds) you can find it here. I did a lot of reading back in June when one of the hens that I got in April went broody - setting on a bunch of nonfertile eggs

. We set 12 fertile guinea eggs under her and 10 hatched. From what I understand that's a really, really good percentage to hatch. Anyway, that's when I read about the hen turning the eggs - she actually does it from what I recall to keep them equally warm. I would guess if they're not fertile she would just walk away - but that's just my inexperienced opinion.