MJ's little flock

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Lexicon said:
This is something that I struggled with all summer last year. I did a lot of research before getting chickens, but didn't realize that mine would be so prone to broodiness. I have four hens that go broody regularly. One was broody five times last summer!
I started out crating my first broody and it was awful, I have to say. She was not thrilled with the crate during the day, but she really freaked out at night. I moved her into the coop inside the crate, but she was alarm calling and smashing her head through the bars over and over. I was really worried and finally told my husband that I was going to check on her and if she was still agitated, I would release her. She had settled by then, so I left her, but in the morning I saw that she had scabs on her earlobes from trying to push her head through the bars. I felt horrible!
The third time that she as broody last summer, I tried a new technique. I would carry her out to our smaller (185 square foot) run in the morning and she would stay there throughout the day. She had a dust bath, food and water, fresh greens, but no nest. She could also interact through the fence with the other hens. In the evening, I would open the door to the coop and she would run back to her nest and spend the night there. We would repeat the same thing the next day. After nine days, she stopped being broody.
My last hen to go broody last fall, was my broodiest girl and I just let her be. It was late September and many of the girls weren't laying, so there wasn't as much fighting over nests. She sat all the way through for three weeks and I still ended up crating her for one night to get her to switch from being broody. In general, the more experience I got, the more likely I was to let the hens be.
It's sometimes hard to know what to do. I want the best for my hens and sometimes what is best for one is not the same for another.
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We need to continuously adapt to the individual. Kudos to you for changing your approach to what works best for each of your ladies. Crating is not always the answer but it can be an answer in some situations. It broke my heart to crate Maleficent but it worked and she did not jam her head into the bars or hurt herself in anyway. The next time it might just be locking the hen out of the nest box or taking her eggs.
 
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GreggoryJeanHeffernanHeff said:
Unfortunately I only have 4" little babies in my flock! How many are in yours?
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Four hens. Two are getting on for four years old and two are getting on for three years old.

I may be introducing a pair of pullets soon. I'm just waiting to see if an egg hatches before buying them.

Are you in Australia too?
 

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