I have another question...![]()
I have another hen that has gone broody...'full on broody'. What is with these wyandottes?@! ..It is the black laced that are acting like this right now!! Driving me nuts!! We got 1 egg today so far...that is so depressing......![]()
I am interested to know, no-I am desperate to know.....what any of you do to rectify this situation? I am NOT getting more chicks, so that is OUT....How would/do any of you go about "breaking" your broody hens. I have a few ideas, but want a few more. Does the length of segregation depend purely on that particular hen or is it a set-time? I have heard numerous opinions on this and gets a little confusing. Also, does the cage/area that the hen is in have to be completely dark? Does she get any time outside during this process? Any and all opinions and experiences in this matter is so much appreciated, thank you!-Danielle
For the first issue.... our broodies like to keep the chicks on the floor for the first 2 or 3 weeks at least, and although they do figure out the ramps I have noticed our meat birds are poorly balanced so they take much longer to figure out the ramps. Since the meaties will grow so fast I would go to WalMart and get a medium sized plastic storage container with a well fitting lid.... take it home and draw an arched door opening onto a side or end with a sharpie, with the door 'sill' being about 2" off of ground level. Cut it out with either a razor knife or a dremmel tool. Fill with bedding and place it in your run for the broody to use as a new nest. She can stay in it at night with the youngsters until she is ready to go back to the coop. This allows her a dry, safe nesting area with no ramp issues.
For broody breaking. The object is to keep their breast/belly area cool for a few days, this helps shut off the hormones... you can try a cool bath followed by a stay in an elevated wire bottom cage for a couple of days. The wire bottom cage ensures she can't snuggle down and get warmth built up under her belly.
Some folks do the cool bath and remove the hen daily from the coop and block access off from the coop, giving them treats frequently to keep them up and moving....but that isn't as practical when you have other hens needing to go in to egg in the boxes.