I'll do it right next time I have a broody hen

[azygous]

My two-year old GLW SuSu has been stubbornly broody for nine days. I've had my hands full with other stuff lately so I merely kept her in a segregated section of the run, depriving her of nest box access.

Along about the sixth day, without any sign of improvement, I finally got out the broody cage and set it up in the middle of the run and installed SuSu in it. I blocked off the nest boxes and each night she's been allowed to roost with the others.

There's been no sign of her giving up this broody business until I decided to move the broody cage into the garage last night and put a fan under it it blow on her under parts all night long.

This morning, not surprisingly, SuSu was cured. She's back with the others in the run, and isn't interested any longer in making a beeline for the nest box.

This has shown me that going to the extra bother of setting up the fan under a broody to blow all night to cool her nether region is an invaluable tool for drastically reducing the amount of time it takes to break a broody.

 

[Keltara]

Phew! As I was reading I thought it was going to have a bad ending. Especially when I got to the fan part. I thought you were going to say that she had died of hypothermia. Phew!!!! Thank you for this information. I've never had a broody yet and I'm entering my 3rd year of chicken keeping. If I do, I will definitely implement this wonderful tip.

Kelly

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Our Country Chronicles

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[azygous]

Usually it takes me three days and two nights to get a broody cure, using a fan at night. In the end, I wasted more time messing around with SuSu than it would have taken had I just done it according to my "broody protocol" in the first place.

I have two more going broody at present, one of which has been broody already this season, a serial broody, if you will. I think I'll just leave the cage set up in the garage for the next one.

 

[auntie8996]

Usually it takes me three days and two nights to get a broody cure, using a fan at night. In the end, I wasted more time messing around with SuSu than it would have taken had I just done it according to my "broody protocol" in the first place.

I have two more going broody at present, one of which has been broody already this season, a serial broody, if you will. I think I'll just leave the cage set up in the garage for the next one.

I have 2 PW bantams that go broody often. We live in Central Maine and it is not really warm enough yet to do what you did with Susu. I have heard of dunking their bums in cold water also. I could do that doing the warmest part of the day. Would you recommend that? Any info would help and I thank you very much!

 

[azygous]

My garage is insulated, so SuSu wasn't subjected to a fan blowing below freezing air on her. It's not a bad idea to keep a broody on the cool side since you want to bring down her temperature.

I've tried dunking in cold water (in summer time), and it didn't do anything at all except make a broody even angrier. I've tried slipping ice packs under a broody, and that didn't do any good either. A broody is happy to sit on anything, even if it's frozen.

The only thing that works for me is the broody cage with the open mesh bottom, and a fan blowing on her underside all night.