My hen is just sitting in her hen box

[john_wrightson2003]

A wire dog crate works well, put it up on bricks so the air flows underneath, remove the tray too. Put food and water in the crate with her, and make sure she has shade all day while you're gone. Remember the sun moves.

Thats if he wants to break her, @SEPMJR09 you could let her hatch some chicks.

 

[Perris]

she will lose quite a lot of condition while sitting on the nest all day, so if you do not want some chicks (do you have a rooster? or have access to hatching eggs?) then I would advise breaking her via a dog crate as suggested by others above. It might seem cruel, but I really think it's better for a forlorn broody; and then perhaps make plans for hatching some next time she goes broody (she will), hopefully in the spring ...

 

[townchicks]

Please only consider hatching, if you want more chickens, AND have a plan for extra cockerels, that does not rely on giving them away as pets only. It is very hard to find homes for cockerels/roosters, but if you don't mind them being eaten, then it's not so hard to give them away. Or eat them yourself. If you can't/won't do that DO NOT let her raise babies. If you do, go for it and have a plan in case she quits on you. (incubator and brooder)

 

[SEPMJR09]

she will lose quite a lot of condition while sitting on the nest all day, so if you do not want some chicks (do you have a rooster? or have access to hatching eggs?) then I would advise breaking her via a dog crate as suggested by others above. It might seem cruel, but I really think it's better for a forlorn broody; and then perhaps make plans for hatching some next time she goes broody (she will), hopefully in the spring ...

What type of dog crate are we referring to? No roosters I have 4 hens. I don’t understand a lot on them so I want to make sure I do everything correctly for them and with them. Their entire coop is shaded all day for the most part. On the dog crate, what do I put inside the crate? How long does she stay in the crate and do I leave the door open so she can come and go or do I close it with food and water ? I have a dog that is Kennel trained and he goes in his kennel when we are gone, so the kennel is available at night and during the day (he goes to work wit my husband ) he’s only in the crate when everyone is gone. Typically someone is usually always home. It’s a good size kennel not small.

 

[Perris]

here's one of mine in broody jail this summer - so a wire dog crate, with a perch so she can get off the metal but airy underneath - after taking that photo I raised the crate up on logs at either end to get more air under her. Water available, give food when you feed the others. And shade/shelter from sun/rain.
You need to lock her in for 3 days & nights; if when you let her out she goes straight back to the nest, in for another 24 hours, then try again. Once the hormones have been switched off she will revert to normal behaviour and roam with the flock again.

 

[townchicks]

Wire type crate, not the plastic kind. You want air to flow around her underside. Put food and water in the crate with her, and close her in it. Keep her there for several days and nights, in a safe place. Preferably in the coop with the rest of them, if there is room, that way she won't have to be re-integrated with the flock. Let her out after a couple of days, if she goes back to the nest box, put her back in until she stops hanging out in the nest box all day. Collect any eggs as soon as possible.

 

[SEPMJR09]

here's one of mine in broody jail this summer - so a wire dog crate, with a perch so she can get off the metal but airy underneath - after taking that photo I raised the crate up on logs at either end to get more air under her. Water available, give food when you feed the others. And shade/shelter from sun/rain.
You need to lock her in for 3 days & nights; if when you let her out she goes straight back to the nest, in for another 24 hours, then try again. Once the hormones have been switched off she will revert to normal behaviour and roam with the flock again.

This is PERFECT! Thank you so much for this and the picture. I was thinking to just pick her up and put her in the yard away from the coop, but I didn’t know what was wrong with her. Now that I do (I never knew this about hens ) I have so much more to learn haha! They are a joy tho! I will do that tonight, and I’ll leave her in it until Monday morning and I will let her out and see if she goes with the rest of the flock. Now, can I place the dog crate in their run? They have a 30x24 or something out back (yard is fenced in) and I leave the door to their coop open and they free range the backyard and then at night they go home to their coop and during the day they go in an out when laying their eggs. They have 2 hen houses inside the run that we built for them. Or do I need to remove her from the entire coop/run all together? It is built under a huge tree so they have shade.

 

[townchicks]

Now, can I place the dog crate in their run?

The run should be fine during the day, at night, only if secure from nighttime predators. Raccoons can stick their paws in a wire crate and grab the hen. If there is room, at night, coop would be best, if not, move the cage and hen into a garage or even the house, at night.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I put water in the coop so she has access to water. I’m worried she’ll get dehydrated and die we work during the day so I have no idea if she comes out for food or water or bugs or does she sit 24/7 in there so I put water in their for her so she has access to it. I definitely don’t want to add to her staying in there I want her to come out and come back and roam with the other girls

What type of dog crate are we referring to? No roosters I have 4 hens. I don’t understand a lot on them so I want to make sure I do everything correctly for them and with them. Their entire coop is shaded all day for the most part. On the dog crate, what do I put inside the crate? How long does she stay in the crate and do I leave the door open so she can come and go or do I close it with food and water ? I have a dog that is Kennel trained and he goes in his kennel when we are gone, so the kennel is available at night and during the day (he goes to work wit my husband ) he’s only in the crate when everyone is gone. Typically someone is usually always home. It’s a good size kennel not small.

Broody hens (and all birds for that matter) have been incubating eggs for millions of years and they don't commit suicide by starvation and dehydration.
Pulling the bird off the nest won't break them. They'll just plunk themselves down somewhere to keep their underside warm.
The only way to break them is to get cool air to the underside. That's why you can't leave the crate door open. They'll just go back to the nest or sit on solid ground somewhere else.
The wire bottom elevated cage has been used for centuries to break setters.
Growing up we had 100 white leghorns for egg sales and had about 5 cages suspended from the ceiling of the hen house. There were always a couple jailbirds in them.

 

[Perris]

if you can put the crate somewhere secure from predators yet still accessible to the rest of the flock that would be best; if not, as townchicks says, in a garage or equivalent just for the night. Ideally you don't want to separate her completely from the flock or she'll lose her position in the flock and there'll be integration issues when she is free again. But if the crate won't fit in the coop and you have predators that could get her through the bars, then safety triumphs.