How to Break a Broody Hen

[kellya126]

We have a broody Wellsummer who has been sitting on a wooden egg for the past week. She had been trying to collect a few, but I kept collecting them, despite her protests. After she continued to sit there on that wooden egg, I decided to let her hatch a couple and break her of it naturally, in her own time. I place a couple of eggs under her today... we will see what happens.... I hope she will sit there until they hatch!!

 

[OHSpartan]

just subscribing....

 

[mairikra]

This is great advice, works every time for me!

 

[Margot50]

Another broody question, this time regarding ducks..... A complex tale with a question at the end.
three australian spotted ducks, one drake and 2 hens.
Hen 1 lays lays and starts to get broody. Plays around for a couple of weeks and then settles in on a clutch of about 12 eggs.
Hen 2 also laying in same nest. Very companianable, at first anyway. Both sitting together, Hen 1 all the time, Hen 2 now and again.
I remove some eggs cuz how many ducks do I need in my back yard, and I like the eggs.
I come back one day and the top of the nesting box (a litter pan) is askew and Hen 1 is no longer sitting. For a day or two it seems that Hen 2 is not either.
Hen 1 starts laying in the run.
Hen 2 goes and turns seriously broody in the original nest. If looks could kill I would be 6 feet under.
Now Hen 1 is making a nest in the run and not getting near the original nest. The first site she tried was not good and the eggs got broken, I believe by some of the wild birds that can make it through the welded wire (little peck holes) She is now in a better spot and is covering her eggs.
Hen 1 is starting to give me the eye and be protective of her eggs so I think is reconsidering the broody business.
I candled the eggs in the original nest and we have 8 fertile eggs in two groups, one group of 3 with appreciable size fetus and movement, the other group of 5 at an earlier stage.with good veins but not alot of dnese fetal tissue yet.

So! Here is the question. If, as I suspect will happen, Hen 1 really does go broody in the next several days, if I put one of the groups of developing eggs under her, would she accept hatchlings that would be "arriving early" from her point of view. possibly very early.

My thgt being to get through the broody time with both hens with ducklings but not so many ...
and then get back to laying later in the summer I hope?

 

[elsasmom]

I had good luck with a wire dog crate up on some pieces of 4 X 4 posts laid on their sides. My RIR broody gave up after only 2 days in this contraption, which I kept in my workshop with the lights on.

She had been broody for at least 3 or 4 weeks with me pulling her out of the nest box 2 or 3 times a day before I got desperate enough to allow her to stink up my workshop for a couple of days. She went back with the others and has stayed out of the nest box (so far).

I used the same setup but left it in in coop so she was still with the group. "She" is a Muscovy duck who I had been taking out of the box for 2 weeks. It took about 2 days and she went back to being her own sweet self again.

 

[sandytsuki]

Thanks for posting this! I have one of 4, 2-yr-old Ameraucanas in my backyard, free-ranging flock, that has been like this for the last 2 weeks. I raise rabbits so do have an available "broody-buster" environment to try on her. A couple of days ago, I hauled her out of the rabbit nest box that I leave on top of the rabbit cages, fed her & locked her in the chainlink, dog kennel chicken coop w/the others during their late afternoon feeding to see what the behaviors would be. All the others pecked her as she darted around, all puffed up, announcing how unhappy she was w/being on the ground. As soon as I let her out, she went right back up into the rabbit nest box w/the golf ball decoy in it to sleep for the night. Come tomorrow, she's in for a change!

 

[Chicken Mummy]

Hi

I tried the cage method with my really broody bantam. It didn't work after a week so i took her out. I tried putting her bottom half into a cold bucket of water everytime I found her on the nest. This apparently brings their temp down, so they don't feel hot and broody. I felt really mean!!! But it worked. I will always try the cage method first as this has worked with other hens, but Patsy wasn't giving up and I didn't want her to starve herself on the nest. The weather was warm so she was able to dry off ok in between dunkings and didn't get excessively cold.

Cheers

 

[horsesrule11]

Yep thats wat I hade to do with my chicken she sat there and was angry at every body that dare even open the coop door to get eggs

So I put her in a bucket and after a couple days she was ok

I think she is sort of special E.D.Y tho because some times she isn't broody but she will just sit there and look like she is being hypnotized of something like that.
Do you think it is possible that losing your best friend to a coyote is enough to make you, just...strange?????

 

[Chicken Mummy]

I absolutely believe they affected by grief as birds get 'bonded' especially if they grow up
Together . We have 2 that are particularly close and one recently went to the vet, when she came back there was a whole conversation between them and it was soo cute. After that they wouldn't separate and protested loudly if they got separated. They have settled down a little now. The other thing is if one gets sick the other often does too, even with different symptoms but they seem to be linked. I use Australian bush flower essences which is similar to rescue remedy if we lose a chicken from the flock to help with the stress and loss and to help the flock with a new hierarchy without too much violence occurring. I'm always amazed by the relationships they have with each other. Our rooster even puts his wings over the girls at night and he looks like hes hugging them, one on each side, keeping them warm. He's a sensitive new age rooster

 

[galanie]

Yes they do bond and are very much affected if their friend dies. Right now, if I raise a few together and want to sell them, I refuse to sell only one, they must stay together. If one of a pair dies, then and only then will I sell one lone bird. Not to say that I sell birds all the time, I don't. But I'm just illustrating my point.