How to stop a hen from brooding?

[Mountainboymama]

I have a hen who has decided to start brooding. I think it's too late in the Utah season to get her a chick. (I'm not sure if getting her one would even work)
I'm super new to this and I'm not sure how to stop her.
Does anyone have any ideas or things you've done to stop brooding?

 

[Pretty Birds]

Does anyone have any ideas or things you've done to stop brooding?

I pick mine up off the nest as frequently as I can for a few days, sometimes it works. If that does not work, I put them in a hang wire cage until she stops brooding. I have also read you could put ice packs under her, but I've never tried that. There are some articles on BYC about this that you could read as well.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I have a hen who has decided to start brooding. I think it's too late in the Utah season to get her a chick. (I'm not sure if getting her one would even work)
I'm super new to this and I'm not sure how to stop her.
Does anyone have any ideas or things you've done to stop brooding?

I couldn’t get mine to stop, she basically brooded for about three months and I finally broke down and got her two day old chicks. It is such a wonderful thing to watch, she takes such good care of them, it’s really amazing!

 

[aart]

Tractor Supply is selling chicks now.
Or you could get her some fertile eggs.
Or you could break her broodiness, which might be the easiest choice.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[RNPAULIE69]

I recently had my first experience with a broody hen. After a week of pulling her off the nest only to watch her go right back in we blocked it off much to the dismay of my other two hens. I really didn't want to put her in a dog crate so earlier this week I put her in the big pen by herself ( it has a trap door to shut off the pen connected to the coop at night) she could see her friends but no access to the coop or bedding. I sprayed down the pen with cold water in case she decided to plop on the ground and on the 3rd day it worked!!!!! They were quite vocal about their unhappiness being separated so in the afternoons we let them free range together and she slept on the coop roost with the nest boxes blocked . Now I know what to look for and will nip it in the bud sooner. Thankfully she was stubborn but still sweet and it was pretty easier to take her out of the nest box. I am thankful we have the pens set up the way we do so we could close up her access.

 

[Kdlevesque]

We have 2 that go broody and we just remove them from the nest, over and over and over and over...We have no rooster so it’s pointless. Mine usually break fairly easy by doing this. Never more than a few days. Granted, they do make a few squawks to show their frustration. One of my friends told me that since they are so easy to break and don’t peck at us or anything said that’s a sign they wouldn’t make a good broody or mother.

 

[RinaRoo]

A breeder in SC told me if I didn't want my broody to hatch eggs, then I should put her in a bucket of cold water. I guess it works like the ice packs. She said it was the quickest way. I got her eggs instead, since I have some 5 weekers now, and they were a breed I wanted any how.