I Can't Handle All These Broodies!!

[BooBear]

I just gave up on mine. Have 3 brooding, 1 of which is now a momma.
Here she is with her newly hatched chick:

I expect the other 2 girls eggs to hatch in another week.

 

[deserthens]

Cute chick & hen.
But is there a 'cure' for broodiness?

 

[stilldeb]

I went out yesterday and three boxes had beady little eyes looking back at me giving me 'the look"...three more broodies! I just got done with two and now three more...noooooo!

deb g

 

[Rammy]

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[ScotianChick]

Some of us try breaking them because our coops aren't set up in a way to handle chicks.

 

[stilldeb]

We have no plans to hatch any chicks and pick up eggs everyday. My broodies are sitting on...air. So I go out and put them out in the run a couple times a day to make sure they at least eat and get something to drink, especially on hot days. There are six nesting boxes in this particular coop, and three are currently occupied by broodies, and they all do have their 'favorites', plus when the other hens go in to lay eggs, they get squwaked at by three broodies.

deb g

 

[trilyn]

Tell me about it...have 8 going on 9...ugh! But the worst part is this...can't get medicated feed this time of year unless I special order it! What! My one feed store actually said, "your chicks should be on grower now". Their logic is because chick days were back in late March thru early May...that means that everyone ought to be on grower now. Well...what about broody hens...maybe you could send them a message to start back in March? Danged idiot people!!!

 

[BooBear]

Quote:
Sorry, there is no cure, only chicken math.

However, some tricks do work in breaking the current broody state. Depending on how long the hen has been broody determines how tough it will be to break her. Use a wire bottom cage to put her in. The key to this is to cool her off and make her uncomfortable to where she snaps out of the spell. This does work, but can take a few days or longer depending on the stubbornness of the hen.
Always include food, water, and a perch in the cage.
Bewarned the broody bug will come back though.

 

[briggate]

My cure for broodiness, which has not met with total success, has been the wire cage method. We seclude Ms. Broody into a portable chicken tractor, which has a small dog crate it in converted for use as a nest box, in the back. We leave her in the shade (it's darn hot here!) with food and water, and close up the nestbox/crate during the day. She's allowed to go in at night. Takes 3-6 days usually, and it cures the broodiness with most birds, but we have a stubborn one we're working on - silly girl has been in that chicken tractor 4 times now. I only have 3 nest boxes and 8 chickens, and can't afford for her to take up precious egg-laying real estate! Think I'll try using a mist system nearby to get her wet, maybe wet and wire bottom cage combo will break the spell....???? B/C we are not getting ANY eggs for the last several days - I think the hot weather, coupled with a snake scare 2 weeks ago, has contributed to their production shut-down.
BTW, I don't want broodies because I don't want chicks - no time or place to care for them until they're old enough.

 

[ScotianChick]

Well, my girls remained wet and outside almost the entire day due to me blocking off the coop and the rain. The temperature has gone down considerably today so I hope that helped. Not only that, I blocked off the nest so they have no choice but to roost. Even when they roost though I have to come in in the morning and shoo them off of it!