How to stop a broody hen and control the population of your flock

[darkmatter]

There are side effects to having broody hens and chicks:

 

[chookins21]

I just stopped a broody Wellsummer, but lifting her out of nest and placing my wet hand against her bare patch. Had to do this several times over a week or so but she did give it up, not laying yet though.

 

[bibkel]

Tim, you explained this REALLY well. My daughter volunteers at a farm and one chicken went broody and the owner was worried. I sent her a link to this thread....I have learned SO much from BYC.

I have no Roo, so my hens used to hatch ducklings....I have always simply firmly grabbed the eggs that were chicken. I got pecked only a few times, and I peck back with a finger.

The MAMA duck, that is a totally different story....SHE is a nasty girl when she is broody. I usually have to fake with one hand, and grab her neck with the other, then I can cover her head while I fish out the chicken eggs. Sometimes I will pull her out (she screams at me the whole time) and I will candle with my girls to see if I have ducklings or soup. Soup gets tossed, ducklings get monitored. I have had many successful hatches from her, she is great.

I have a Bantam that hatched three babies, and one got trampled. The other two I pulled out to protect. She is the ONLY Bantam I have except the babies (4 in all) and was sitting on over a dozen duck eggs....LOL See my pics to see her. I have no clue why I can't attach them.

 

[bibkel]

Oh, duh. She is a orange tan frizzle, pecked bald.

 

[Feathers n Fur]

So far my broody bantam hen has hatched 4 quart sized bags of ice cubes over three days. Today will be day four. She refuses to get with the program. I have a hen in my dog crate right now recovering from crop surgery but once she is out, evil little Sadie will go in minus the bottom.

 

[Dook]

My mixed bantom/layer hen just turned 6 months old today and started laying 2 weeks ago. She laid 5 eggs (collected everyday) but has suddenly gone broody! (never had a broody chicken before..i think because she's part bantom she's broody!) She is determined to get into the pen where the nest boxes are, but i have been keeping her out and only letting the others in to lay their eggs.
She gets very grumpy and puffs up around the pen door. She even got protective of the plastic egg! Last night is the first time i've found her sleeping on the nest aswell. I moved her to a roost and blocked of the nest box. But in the morning she managed to move the wire i had put there to get in and sit on that plastic egg.

I'm thinking of trying the ice method, though it is winter I don't want her to get too cold..I was going to try wrap an ice pack in a tea towel and leave that in the nest and see if it has the same effect? if not i'll have to find some wire and make a wire based pen for her to stay in!

 

[Dook]

*update... she seems determined to sit on the ice packs O___O even though they are very cold! will she stay on them for a while before moving? or does it seem like this method might not work? :/

EDIT... well she stayed on the ice packs all afternoon..AND I found an egg in there with her. While she was cooling off though I built a little wire bottomed pen for her to be in tomorrow while i'm not home =) Sure hope this works! =P (as cute as it is..we don't need a broody chook just yet!)

 

[seazning]

I tried the ice about 7 times and now she's in a raised cage. I think she's freezer burned on her belly. It's red blotches. I did 4 cub

 

[Dook]

Well she stayed (during the day) in the wire bottomed pen I made and (slept on the roost with the others at night) for 3 days... today was the first time she actually was waiting with the others in the morning for food and came out and didn't rush back to the nest!....I'm keeping a close eye on her just incase i catch her being all broody again...otherwise she'll be instantly back in the special pen!

I'm thinking of keeping the pen i made (which is inside of their large run pen) incase it happens again... and as a chill out spot for the rooster. He's being a real Bas-tard (broken into two words...whyyy on earth is that a swear?? lol) to my older girls, he literally chases them all around the yard until he pins them down =( (the young chooks don't bother running)

 

[bibkel]

Hatched ice cubes....LOL

I want one of my girls to get broody, I have a goose egg to shove in there.

I gave everyone a bath, and a trim around the cloaca due to mites. Never knew they arrive after year one. I think they came from a few I embraced into my flock. Oh, well. At least there arr no poopy butts.