Need help, think one of my girls is "Brooding"?

[84097newbei]

She will not leave the nest unless I take her out to eat and drink. This has been going on for 3 days now. My egg count is down from 5 to 2-3 a day. Girls free range the back yard so i have started looking for eggs in other places in the yard. Is there anything I can do to stop this behavior or help her?

 

[donrae]

Do a search or look for threads on breaking a broody. Most common way is put her in a wire cage suspended from the ground so air flows underneath her and keeps her nethers cool. Takes up to a week.

 

[Bullitt]

Do a search or look for threads on breaking a broody. Most common way is put her in a wire cage suspended from the ground so air flows underneath her and keeps her nethers cool. Takes up to a week.

Exactly. That is how it is done. If the hen can't make a warm nest, then she figures out that trying to hatch eggs doesn't make sense.

Some say putting an unfamiliar rooster in the cage with the hen also helps.

Or, you could put some eggs under your broody hen and allow her to hatch out some chicks for you.

 

[appps]

We just make sure she can't get to the nesting box at any time 24 hrs a day for 3 days. We do this by locking the nest box at night and putting her it a little partitioned off section in their run of a day. Just make sure if course she has food water and shade

Has never failed to fix the problem even with our silkie and they are notoriously hard to break.

 

[84097newbei]

Thank you for the info.. Unfortunately Roosters r not allowed here and I have the legal max for chickens. Will try the "separated " idea, of course with plenty of water and food. What causes this behavior?

 

[Bullitt]

Thank you for the info.. Unfortunately Roosters r not allowed here and I have the legal max for chickens. Will try the "separated " idea, of course with plenty of water and food. What causes this behavior?

Genetics causes it. Some breeds are broody and some aren't. For breeds that are broody, warm weather can bring on broodiness.

 

[84097newbei]

My girls are Red's and the weather here in Utah as been unusually hot. This all makes sense now...