Newest problem - BSL hen gone broody! Video linked

[gordonburrito]

Well it was bound to happen but I really didn't expect either of my Black Sex Links to be the chickens to have gone broody. Scrappy has been spending longer and longer on the nest each day. When approached she does the bristling and vocal threats you see in the video. She has also plucked her breast feathers

. My main concern is the amount of time she's spending on the nest. She's hogging our chickens favorite nest box and causing a line up every day now. I've been tossing her out of the coop in the morning which gives the others a window of opportunity to lay, but as soon as she can she's right back up there. Last night she didn't even roost. She spent the whole night incubating two golf balls

. I admire her tenacity but she's becoming a real nuisance! I guess I can count my blessings that she's still friendly enough to move by hand! A bigger problem may be that her sister Foxy (another black sex link) is starting to exhibit the same kind of behavior on the other nest box! Both are "tractor store" quality BSL hens, so perhaps that explains it. I guess I should take some comfort that they are laying almost every day?

Here's a video if if you want to see what I'm dealing with

 

[JLS]

I would suggest removing the golf balls unless they're there for egg-eating behavior modification. When I left golf balls in my nest boxes to correct egg-eating behaviors I had several hens go broody. Also remove her from the box several times per day and put her on the roost at night. If you can let her safely free range during the day - locked out of all nest boxes - it will help quicken the process of reducing her hormones. Let her keep busy looking for food instead of brooding. Other than that you can put her in a wire-bottom cage for several days to break the broody cycle. That's if you dont want her being broody. I wish you the best!

 

[gordonburrito]

We actually ended up breaking this chicken of her broodiness. It took a lot of locking her out of the coop and throwing her off of nests. There was actually a period of resentment after we broke her where she stopped squatting for me. Like....Hey you've been treating me badly! You're not my rooster anymore! With sufficient treat giving she warmed back up though. Then just last week all my chickens laid a nice clutch of eggs early in the morning and we woke up to her broody on the nest AGAIN. Suddenly and out of the blue. The large number of eggs must of set her off

Of course she's picked her chest clean of feathers just in time for the 20 degree winter

Now she's like BRRRRR! I'm going back to the nice warm nest!

At least she's keeping the eggs from freezing I guess.

 

[gryeyes]

Would you be adverse to getting her some fertile eggs to hatch?

I hate "breaking" broodies.

I do understand you have a limited nest box situation; why not put a covered kitty litter box in the coop, with hay or pine shavings, and she if she will accept a move to that location with her eggs?

Loved the video!

 

[gordonburrito]

Hatching extra chicks to break a broody chickens strikes me as a dangerous chicken math situation. I think 6 is the maximum number of chickens for the size of our yard (we have 6 hens). We already get a lot of rubber necking from the neighbors and passerbys. I would not want to attract more attention. We do not have a rooster. Plus our chickens are pets with benefits, so I would be opposed to hatching chicks for the purpose of culling. If I bring chicks into the world I'd feel a need to find them homes. To break her with chicks I would have to (in my mind)....

1.) find fertile eggs in Missouri
2.) find fertile eggs of chicks I could easily give away (a desirable breed or at least decent breeding)
3.) find a home for the chicks that would hatch

In the recent past we did get a bunch of Easter Egger chicks and give some of them away. It was pretty easy to find people interested in free Easter Eggers raised in a loving environment. I guess it is something I could research.