How to stop brooding?

[Cinnamon11]

Hi, I recently got chicks and about a week after my hen started brooding. This was 4 weeks ago and I’m sick of her brooding! She is a barred rock and I have tried to put the chicks under her but she did not accept them at all and almost killed one any idea how I can stop this bad behavior?

 

[igorsMistress]

Put her in a cage without bedding, give her a roost and food/water. Leave her in there a few days.

 

[aart]

This was 4 weeks ago and I’m sick of her brooding!

May take longer if she's been setting that long...but...
If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's 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.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[Cinnamon11]

May take longer if she's been setting that long...but...
If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's 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.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.
View attachment 2210016

I would let her hatch eggs but I did just get chicks so I’m not going to thanks for the idea I’ll look into getting a dog crate to break her brooding.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would let her hatch eggs but I did just get chicks so I’m not going to thanks for the idea I’ll look into getting a dog crate to break her brooding.

For future reference, the sooner you begin breaking, the faster they'll tend to snap out of it. I had a hen go broody after I just got chicks so I put her in isolation after her 2nd day of overt interest in the nest, and she broke in a day and a half.