How to Break a Broody Hen

[mother o' chicks72]

All I had to do was put the hay bale on top of where she was sitting on her eggs(on the ground), she slept on top of the hay bale then by later the next day she was up again and only 1-2 days after that she was laying again. It was very easy.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Those bare places on a broody hen's breast are natural, it's to help provide moistness to the incubating eggs. I wouldn't take the hen to the vet for that purpose, but I would either give her eggs to incubate or put her in a Broody Buster cage. Decide to do one or the other immediately, don't let her continue to set for no reason.

 

[yankiwi]

Thanks for all the good tips in this thread. I have three New Hampshires, about 14 months old and no rooster. This is our first venture with poultry and we love having them but want to nip this in the bud.
They have a very nice coop about four feet cubed with a nest box that hangs off the side. As of a few days ago we noticed one of them was in the nest box a lot including in the morning and at dusk when they go in and up on the perch. Our trouble is we can't tell them apart. Two are identical and the other is so similar we need all three together to even be able to notice a difference. We removed the three plastic eggs but according to this thread they will sit on imaginary eggs just as well. She is also laying the occasional egg on the poop board or on the floor outside of the nest box.
Would it be okay to put a few drops of food coloring on the broody one's back? That way we will know which one is in the nest box and not remove the other two. This morning she came out when I opened the coop and gave them their corn. They free range in the daytime and I scattered the corn a fair distance away from their pen. She stayed out for about 15 minutes then slunk back inside. We don't want to have to resort to the cage method as we have rats and stoats on the property since we live in the country.
Thanks for any advice, BackyardChickens is great.

 

[mommissan]

Thanks Sunny Side Up for the great advice. I locked her up in a rabbit cage with a makeshift mesh bottom, no bedding as you advised. She stayed in that for the first day and was moved into my basement that night with the basement lights on for an additional 4 hours. Second day she spent in an outdoor kennel I put in the run, (no bedding), so that she couldn't run back into the nest boxes, but could still be "with" the flock and scratch and eat. She went straight for the nest boxes again that night when I let her out of the kennel, so back in the rabbit cage in the basement she went. The third day, that morning I took her out and plopped her in the run to see what she would do. Well, She was no longer broody! IT WORKED!!!!!

Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!

 

[yankiwi]

I didn't need to resort to marking the broody one with food coloring. I borrowed a possum trap from some friends--I didn't measure it but it seemed about 30" x 12" x 12", maybe a little bigger. Before putting her in the cage my husband dunked her belly in cold water for a few seconds then we put her in the cage up on two 2 x 4s in a wood shed. We didn't fool around, left her there for three days with food and water. (We did check on her from time to time.) When we finally let her out she had forgotten all about her imaginary eggs and now she roams around happily with her two friends.

 

[galanie]

I said I would NEVER dunk a hen. Well I did finally. She had been in the broody cage for 5 days and still broody. I dunked her and she went back to the nest. I dunked her again and back in the cage for three more days. Nope, still broody. She's not getting any eggs to hatch so I hope she just gets over it. It's been a bit over 3 weeks now.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Each hen is different, and some are just far more difficult to discourage than others. But if I had a hen that determined to brood I'd either give her a few eggs to hatch, try to put some chicks under her, or trade her to someone who needs a broody hen. If you don't want more chicks, ducks, geese, or turkeys you should be able to find someone nearby who would love to have your hen hatch something for them.

I just think that while we can do a lot to manage our birds and make them do our bidding, if nature has made one so extremely determined to brood it's a shame to try to change her.

My $.02...

 

[galanie]

The reason I won't give her any eggs is because the last time, I did, and she was a terrible mom. First of all, she'd leave the eggs for over an hour every day. I got concerned and put some in the incubator as "insurance." Then at lockdown time, I put the incubator eggs under her. Guess what, only the ones that were in the incubator hatched. Then after they hatched, she'd leave them screaming while goofing around for an hour or more somewhere else. There was two, and one day they disappeared. I think it was a cat that took advantage of her inattention. She's an awful mom, so even being that determined, she's not getting any eggs.

Anyway, I had two broody at the same time, and the other is a GREAT mom. She got a couple of chicks since I didn't have any fertile eggs and now the little family is doing well. So yeah, I could restrict her so she can't leave the eggs, etc. for so long or whatever but I don't have a place for two moms at the same time anyhow.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Each hen is dealt a different hand of brooding & mothering skills, this one has an unusual mix of strong desire but poor follow-through. She might do better if she brooded while confined to a very small space and kept in a small enclosed pen of her own to raise the chicks. But since you don't have that kind of space now, you're choosing what's best.

 

[galanie]

Yeah, I do actually have the type of space now you suggest, just for that reason. But since two went broody at the same time, the winner was the good mom. I'm just amazed at how I can't break the black one. I've heard of exactly one other hen before that couldn't be broken in a cage off the ground. Even with a fan running underneath. Seems now I've got #2. She's still sitting. I pick her up most days and take her out since now (!) I in fact am not seeing her goofing off for hours outside

She is wearing me down though. I might give in and get her a couple feed store chicks after all, even though I don't really have any place to separate her from the flock. She's my biggest hen and can protect them from the rest pretty well if she needs to. My luck, I'll do that and THAT will be the day she decides to forget it. It's been over a month now.