Need Help with Broody Hen

[humblehillsfarm]

With 100 eggs all the other hens found the nest. Plus the first night the hen didn't return to the hen house is a sign she is either trapped, dead or is sitting on a hidden nest somewhere!

My bantam hen laid 12 eggs in the woods this spring, I knew she was laying them (could hear the egg song in the woods) and when she didn't sleep in the henhouse one night I knew she was sitting and followed her back to the nest site the next day (it was hidden in thick brush and not easy to find but it was located that day and moved).

I don’t know how many hens she has, but I for one don’t always count my chickens. I used to but there’s just too many. It’s easy to assume things based on a random comment thread, but let’s not be hasty in our judgment of OP. Chicken keeping is hard enough as is.

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

3 Months!!!
I take it you don't have a cock/erel?
Have you other birds been laying out there too?
May take longer to break her if she's really been broody that long.


My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

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Like that water set up a lot!