Pissy Pants (broody) is in a cage..now what??

[kimntep]

She was not easy to catch, either! I ran her out of the box with a broom..she tried to dart back in the coop, I darted, too..she faked right, I almost stepped on her..she was griping at me the whole time and she finally outsmarted me and made it all the way around the coop and back into the nesting box. Darnit! So I put the broom to her again..not really, I just lifted her up with it so I could grab her feet without being pecked to death. She HATES being held upside down by her feet and I can't say as I blame her, but it had to happen. She's in a wire dog crate with food and water and she is VERY unhappy. How long should she stay in there??

 

[Minniechickmama]

Wouldn't it have been easier to put on long sleeves and gloves and just grabbed her out of the box?

 

[kimntep]

I tried long sleeves and gloves and she pecked me so hard I decided it wasn't worth it! Today, though, her comb and wattles almost looked gray and I decided enough already. I've been getting eggs out from under her two or three times a day, every day, for over 2 weeks, shooing her out in to the yard for several hours, then she goes right back as soon as I think she's over it!

 

[buckabucka]

Are you trying to break her broodiness? I read that 3 or 4 days in a wire cage, no bedding, and air circulating underneath, might break her of it.

 

[kimntep]

Yes! I've tried everything and I, too, read about the wire cage trick. She has no bedding in there, just food and water and she is not happy about it! So I'll give it a few days and see what happens. She's lost weight and doesn't look so chipper, but she must not be too bad to run all over the place trying to get away from me like she did!

 

[desman]

I put a towel over my broody and she was still pecking at me she finally stopped and I picked her up but I put her in another pen on some eggs. We have 2 broody hens both setting on eggs. We tried to stop them from being broody putting them in a dog box for a couple of days sometimes it work sometimes in a couple of day there broody again. Anyway good luck

 

[Minniechickmama]

I had a Silkie hen go broody ON THE WIRE this spring. What finally broke her? I wanted her to hatch some eggs

Seriously, I had to move the adult birds out once the snow was gone and when I did, she quit. Go figure, they only do it when you don't want them to, then when you want them to set, they stop.

 

[BANTAMWYANDOTTE]

Try rubbing her under-belly with a few ice cubes. I know how strange this sounds but let me explain why this works:

When a hens body gives the signal that enough eggs have been layed to brood over, a hormone is released that raises her skin tempature on her belly so she can properly incubate the eggs. Until the chicks hatch she will remain there (with the exception of once daily) and her underside will stay warm. After the chicks hatch, a mother leaves the nest and her body cools, this triggers the "broody" hormone to stop. This is why people suggest a wire-floored cage. This air-flow from beneath cools her belly. But some hens are more determined. Until you trigger the stopping of the hormone production, she will brood over anything and fight for that right!

When I was told this I thought this was the oddest thing I had ever heard but when my RIR hen made a several poor attempts at brooding this year and destoryed my incubation eggs. I tried everything, even the wire floor but no luck as soon as I thought it had passed I would let her out and the next morning she would be brooding over one egg! Then tried the ice. After three ice-baths she quit completley and hasn't tried agian. If you can't hold her to rub the ice on her stomach then replace the eggs your removing with ice cubes each day. She will become uncomfortable and eventually quit. I would never make such an outrageous suggestion unless I knew from experiance it works.....or you could let her brood on two or three fertile eggs and avoid the whole headache.....


Just Some Advice From A Friend

Timothy in KY

 

[KlaHaYa Gardens]

bantamwyandotte made a good suggestion.

I really don't understand the necessity of a broom, or even long sleeves and gloves, or holding a chicken by its legs (unless it's about to be whacked) or holding a chicken by its wings (unless one is into cockfighting). I know people hold birds these ways all the time, I just don't understand why its necessary.


I can't say I'm particularly friendly with my birds. Although some would eat out of my hand, I don't do this with them. I really ignore them and don't make "friendly" with them at all. And yet, I can pick them up, which I do one of two ways:

At night, off the roost,

OR

(and this may SHOCK all of you, especially given my lack of understanding about the wing hold or the foot hold) but, because I work with one hand, if I need to grab a bird during the day, I will wait until his or her head is down eating, and I swiftly grab hold of the tail end, press the bird into a squat with my other arm (not hand) and then scoop him or her up with my working hand and hold the bird nicely, usually under my "wing".


The only time I take a broom to the birds is when they come into the kitchen.

Anyway, its too bad you don't have use for a broody. But, maybe next time you want to catch her, it might be easier if you do it at night. Much less of a circus as you can pick her straight up before she knows it.

 

[kimntep]

This was a last resort. I am in no way unkind to any of my girls and a am a little taken aback by the slight implication. As I said, I've tried everything else and nothing works with her. I would never cause undue harm to any animal, but I'm sure not going to allow one to intentionally hurt me, either! The rest of my girls are fine, but she is a different case. Hopefully, I can break the broodiness and I won't have to worry about it anymore. If I was not worried, first and foremost, for this particular hen's health, I would have just left her alone.