How to stop a hen from going broody? 10 days and counting

[Aroz26]

As the title explains, I need some ideas to stop my Black Orp/Australorp (not sure which one exactly

) from constantly going broody on me. She has been sitting on nothing for 10 days now and each time someone lays I remove the eggs straight away but she is determined to set. I take her off the nest everyday and take her to the far end of the paddock but she walks straight back. I even dipped her bottom in cold water 4 times today and turned the nesting crate on its side (its portable) but still no luck, she just went and sat straight on top of the overturned crate and gave me what could only be called a filthy look. I am still raising baby chicks and we aren't ready for a new batch yet as we don't have the space to raise them. I'm just fresh out of ideas as to how to get her to snap out of it. I had heard that Orps love to go broody but this is just ridiculous lol

 

[HEChicken]

Half your luck - I want broodies and mine rarely are interested! Perhaps you could try putting a couple of the chicks you are currently raising under her at night and she might adopt them. If she does, she will stop being broody to raise them. You would want to be there when they are waking up in the morning to make sure she doesn't reject them.

 

[earlybird10842]

If you don't have eggs you want her to hatch or chicks you want her to raise, try blocking off the nest or even the coop. However, this might be a problem for other hens when they want to lay their eggs.

 

[Aroz26]

I did try blocking off the entrance to the other nesting box as well after all the other hens had laid but then I had to go open it up first thing in the morning so the hens could go in to lay again. A friend suggested putting her in a wire bottom cage for a week with food and water and somewhere to roost. This is her first night so hopefully I have some luck with it. She isn't interested in the chicks unfortunately. I have tried introducing her to them but she only wanted to run back to her own little nest. It will be interesting to see if this method works as I have never known a hen to be so determined to go broody!

 

[HEChicken]

She isn't interested in the chicks unfortunately. I have tried introducing her to them but she only wanted to run back to her own little nest. It will be interesting to see if this method works as I have never known a hen to be so determined to go broody!

She may not have been brooding long enough to adopt chicks. While some broodies will happily accept chicks almost immediately, others seem to need to go the full three weeks before they consider it is "time" for chicks to have hatched.