I have caged my Broody Hen and we are sad, am I doing the right thing?

[Sunny Side Up]

I have a big wire parrot cage that sets up on a heavy wire stand that I use for our Broody Buster. The hens go in there with food & water, but no bedding. They have cover but are not in the dark. It takes 3-5 days for them to stop feeling broody and be able to go back to their regular lives.

I don't think it makes them feel "depressed", but they may have a look on their faces that could be interpreted that way. As long as they have a supply of food, clean water, shelter from the weather, and protection from any temperature extremes, they have no reason to complain. I don't think they're pining for lost motherhood the way a woman would if she were in the same situation. I think they more or less obey their hormones, and the voices only they can hear in their heads, and this time in the Broody Buster is a time of transition, of changing the channels.

After 2-3 days I do let my hens out briefly, to see if they've changed their minds. If they hang with their flock & stay away from the nest boxes, I know their mood has broken. But if they just take a hasty drink & a few quick bites and then zoom back to the nest boxes, I put them right back in the Buster.

 

[citrusdreams]

I'm just curious, but, why is it necessary to break a broody?

Whenever I have a broody, I just take away her eggs. Sometimes they move from a nest to someplace else, like a hay rack, and I just follow them and take their eggs. Eventually, they stop being broody.

So, what would some reasons be that people are breaking their broody?

 

[klf73]

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I haven't had a problem breaking a broody yet either. I just keep removing the eggs and every single one just gives up, so far. Guess I have been lucky

I do think it is cute though when they growl at you when you go to take the eggs

 

[Sunny Side Up]

A broody hen isn't producing new eggs. You're feeding a bird that isn't giving back to you. The eggs she's setting on may break when other hens try to lay in her nest and she fights back. Her health might decline while she's setting & not eating/drinking/dustbathing as often as she should. Broody hens should be kept in separate quarters while they set, and this adds to the daily chicken chores.

Some hens are easier to reprogram than others. Some can have their broody mood broken by simply tossing her out into the sunlit yard. Others need days of caging. Some will go broody several times a year, or more, others perhaps once in their lifetime.

 

[Miss Kitty]

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Sunny is right. They will not eat, drink, poop whatever when broody. For health reasons I break them from it. Besides the other hens absolutely hate it when she gets "pissy" towards them and will take up a fight with even the sheltie dog!! The dog runs the other way. Little does that broody hen know the dog loves Chicken meat!!! So broody is not good for the hens.

 

[SusanMarie]

Today is day 7 and my hen is still in the broody cage. I do let her out for a few hours at the end of the day, she walks around for awile, dusts, but stays close to the hen house, and by dusk she wants to go back in and get in her nest, so I put her back in the cage. I am thinking about quitting on her and starting on the 6 Silkies that are broody.

What is the longest time anyone has had a hen in the cage?

 

[mxpres]

how long is the hen out before she goes to the nest,several hours off the nest don,t sound like the typical broody hen,maybe she wants to roost in the nest at dusk?thats when they go to roost.

 

[lauralou]

I have one crazy little broody hen who is much more determined than the others. Very hard to break. I've had her in a cage for 7 days before.

But in my experience that's a pretty long time. If she isn't exhibiting any broody behaviors other than wanting to sleep in the nestbox at night, it may be that she IS broken of her broodiness. Sometimes they just like to sleep in the nestbox.

 

[Miss Kitty]

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I broke mine in 2 days. I left her in the wire dog cage (chicken wire on the bottom with 4 bricks on each corner so nothing but chicken wire underneath her. Food and water dishes but NO roost NO hay nothing else. Covered it with a sheet at night removed the sheet in the a.m. did this for 2 days. It broke her. She is now running around the yard with the other two fine. No more "percolating" noise no more wanting to nest. Hope this helps you!

 

[Southernbelle]

I had always let the broodies brood and had maintained a flock of Silkies just for that purpose. I love broodies and I hate to see them broken. Not all of them waste away or lose a lot of weight, especially the experienced ones. You need to do what you need to do to meet the needs of your farm. I hope it all works out fine!