How To Break A Broody?

[ChickenGirl555]

When we had a large henhouse for 100 leghorn layers, we had 4 homemade makeshift wire cages hanging from the rafters. Seemed like there were always some birds in broody jail. The cages were just pieces of wire fencing wired together with sticks and wooden slats for a frame. It doesn't have to be elaborate.
Is there room to hang a cage from the ceiling of the coop?

 

[AbbysSilkies]

First of all, I know there are a handful of articles that explain how to break a broody, but I want to hear it from you guys, like this.

So I have a broody buff orpington named Nugget. She is luckily a nice broody, and doesn't bite or hurt me when I pick her up to take eggs from her (but she did snap at her sister Brittney when she had sat on top of her ). I never really thought of it as a problem and let her be broody since I actually want a broody to raise chicks next Spring (I have a little polish cockerel that isn't mature yet). But now I've realised the others aren't laying many eggs because she's scaring a few from her box, resulting in them not wanting to go in the other, either. I only have two since there's only 6 pullets laying eggs.

So. How do I break this? I would prefer not to seperate her from the flock. I've really just been taking her off the nest and forcing her to free range, but then she just puffs up to the size of a bowling ball and clucks with a grumpy face. She's my favorite and the sweetest, so I don't want her to dislike me since they're more pets than livestock. We just want them for 4-H fair and pets, the eggs are like a bonus!

All of these options are more efficient than what I did, but if you don’t want to fiddle with all of that, just push her out of the box a few times a day. I had a broody that left the clutch for a whole day so the eggs wouldn’t hatch then came back and I was so annoyed I just moved her every time I saw her in there, eventually she gave up

 

[ChickenGirl555]

All of these options are more efficient than what I did, but if you don’t want to fiddle with all of that, just push her out of the box a few times a day. I had a broody that left the clutch for a whole day so the eggs wouldn’t hatch then came back and I was so annoyed I just moved her every time I saw her in there, eventually she gave up

Yes that’s what I’ve been doing

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That sounds like a real hassle, and doesn't break a broody. Each time they plunk themselves down on the ground or nest, the hormone cycle is reinforced.
Just suspend them in a wire bottom cage and you're done.

 

[RUNuts]

I dropped mine in a chicken tractor. She refused to sit on the nest in there and perched on top of the nest box. 3 days later we were done.
I'd tried to relocated her to the tractor to get her away from the other hens. She was playing musical nests and wouldn't pick one.