My Broody hen is driving me crazy

[cowdogcadillac]

She started about 10 days ago. I have no rooster so she is just going off instinct. But she is keeping the others from laying . They used to take turns laying in the same nestbox even though there are 3 of them. Now she sits in it screaming at them if they come into the coop. I tried taking everything out of the nest boxes so she could see the ground,I take her out 5 times a day to the other side of the yard with the other birds but she sneaks back to the coop. I'm running low on eggs because of her. My other birds are not laying in the yard as I have torn it up looking. She has everyone nuts as she walks around screeching and screaming. I wish I had some fertilized eggs but I don't. I'm about to make chicken soup.

 

[snowflake]

If you want to drive to Belding Mi. I have lots of fertile eggs. I have no more room for more chicks. But back to your problem. they say if you put her up in a cage with a fan on her bottom it may help stop the broodiness. Might try it soon I have had 1 hen after the other go broody this summer and they seem to be good momma's. I have a friend that has had chickens for 10 yrs, and never had one sit long enough to hatch, don't know what breeds he has but I have had 12 chicks this summer and would have more but I only let them sit on so many eggs then move them to a separate area so the other hens can't lay eggs in her nest . Do you know how many she is sitting on? She may be steeling all the eggs the other hens lay.

 

[kano]

You have to brake up her broodiness, moving her to a separate little coop, plenty of ligth. And wait for 3 to 6 days.

 

[cowdogcadillac]

She was sitting on one egg for 2 days and I removed it as soon as I saw it. She is sitting in a milk crate with no bedding material with a fan blowing on her but she still acts like shes sitting on eggs. I will try moving her into a dog crate on the patio by herself for a few days like you'all say. I pick her up a bunch of times a day and walk around with her thenI let her down and she socializes with the other birds for 20 minutes or so,gets a drink and then goes back to sitting all flattened out and screeching if you come near her. No doubt she will be a good mamma one day but till I get a roo and let it happen shes just warming a milk crate all day.

Thanks for the advice

 

[lizardz]

Ack - I know what you mean about them driving you (and all the other hens) crazy. I have three hens that have gone broody twice on me this summer. What I've had luck with is placing them in a dog crate with no solid bottom on it (just the wire bottom). I raise it up on a couple of 2x4s so it's a couple of inches off the ground, with no bedding material under it. It usually takes 2-3 days and they're ready to move on. Good luck!
Liz

 

[gabby3535]

I just had to break a broody hen within the past week...........
She had gone broody in May, so I got her some hatching eggs (which all failed) then finally had to pop 3 day-old chicks under her....which she went on to raise like she had
been doing it her whole life!! Good mama!
But a couple weeks ago she went broody AGAIN..........and she'd been thru enough this year, so I put her in a wire dog crate (with the bottom 'pan' removed).....in my basement.....
away from everyone else in the coop.....
I set the crate up on 4 cinder blocks (at each corner, just barely.......without giving her any part of the cinder block she could hunker-down on and warm-up!)
I also left the lights on in the basement 24 hrs a day.
She had feed and water, but no 'comforts of the coop', per se............and she returned to the flock after 4 days, totally UN-broody!! And this was a very, very broody hen!
They just can't have anywhere where they can sit 'down on' and 'warm up'......
I did have my doubts about this method being successful, but I did work a charm!!!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Do you want more chickens? If so, why not get a couple feed store babies to let her adopt? It sounds like she's determined to have babies.

 

[cowdogcadillac]

Yehawwwwww!! I broke her like a wild horse. 2 days without bedding in a milk crate with a fan blowing up towards her butt! She's out and acting semi normal. Now if the others will start laying again I would be ecstatic Thanks for all the advice on breaking a broody. BYC is a great tool for anyone raising birds.

Thanks again

 

[OregonChickenGal]

Mine was broody for 3 wks. I would go in there every couple of hours and get her off the nest. I have no roosters either. She's back to normal now...until the next time. LOL