New here-and question about a broody girl

[phoenix_rising]

Hi all! First let me introduce myself. I'm Sara and my husband and I are on our second flock of chickens. Oh how I love their silly antics.

We started our flock in June when we moved to a small family farm in the country. We started out with 20 cornish cross and 5 auracana's. We slaughtered off all but two of the cornish cross (we wanted to keep a rooster and we wanted to keep one girl that would cuddle with him)

We quickly learned that keeping the cornish was a bad idea and got rid of our rooster. We still have "hen-hen" the girl cornish cuz...we just can't get rid of her. She's so pretty. (lol...)

So all of our girls have been laying eggs for a couple of months. One of our aunacana's has decided she's broody. I was originally happy about this but we have no rooster (though I do suppose the jury is out...hubby thinks we have a rooster but I can't desern which chicken as everyone looks like hens and doesn't crow...)

We took all the fake eggs out of the laying nests, we clear out the eggs multiple times a day and keep putting Hawkie (the broody chicken) down by the food and keep trying to get her out of her broody behavior. She's thinning out quite a bit and doesn't seem to want to not be broody! She'll sit even when there's no eggs under her and has been this way for a few weeks. I'm getting worried about her and the book I have says that she may just die from broodiness!! We want a mama bird but...again, we've got nothing for her to mama just now...help?

 

[Ridgerunner]

The best way to break a broody is to keep her in a small cage off the ground with a wire bottom for three or four days. The wire bottom keeps her undersides cool, which seems to help. Give her food and water and she should be fine. Do not give her anything that looks like a nest or nesting materials.

If you don't have the wire cage, any small cage will do, but it might take a little longer. Just find a way to keep her from going back to her nest.

Good luck.

 

[gritsar]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I'm in the process of learning all I can about broody behavior right now because I seriously want one and have a few girls apparently getting the idea.
If you want to break her, you can try isolating her in a wire cage with no access to nesting materials at all; just food and water.
Have you thought about getting some fertile eggs to put under her and let her get it out of her system the natural way?
I'm sure others that have had luck breaking a broody will be along to help you soon.
Good luck!

 

[Catalina]

You need to cool off her underside.

It resets their broody clock. You can put them in a wire bottom cage, put a package of frozen veg. underneath her in the nest or just keep her outside for a while (depending on your outside temps, it was 10F here today).

If this doesn't work, just keep taking her off the nest and feed her extra treats to keep her weight up.

I have a hen that lays 13 eggs and then is broody for 4 months - lays 13 eggs and then is broody for another 4 months.
I've successfully broken her brood once when it was really cold outside this Fall.

Good luck!

 

[Andora]

You joined!