Prevention of broodiness???

[Murdy]

Good day all! In all of my searching here and through the rest of the interwebs, I don't see anything... but I'll ask anyways.

Are there proactive tricks that can help prevent a hen from going broody in the first place? I have no issue breaking them of it when it happens, but it seems to happen WAY too often. Can I prevent it somehow before they stop laying? Are there signs that I can watch for that will allow me to nip in in the bud before it is full on?

I work out of town and am gone for a week at a time. I hate asking my roomate for any more favors than I have to, and he doesn't like seeing the girls in cages.... so I'd like to try to be proactive rather than reactive if possible.


Foolish me, I now have Orpingtons AND Cochins... so I'm likely screwed. Hahaha! I just love how floofy they are!! My 1 orpington was broke of brooding, and not much more than a week later she's sitting. Ugh.

 

[sourland]

Broody breeds are going to go broody. You might consider gradually phasing out your hens as they become aged and replace them with non broody breeds.

 

[Murdy]

x2. Unfortunately with broody breeds, you're more likely to have this issue.

I don't know of any way of preventing broodiness. I'm pretty good at recognizing the signs of an incoming broody cycle, but there's nothing you can really do before they broody other than get the breaker cage set up and ready to go.

Where the "dislike" button when you need it? Hahaha!

Yeah.... After a bunch of google searching turned up nothing, I was afraid of that. Oh well... She's lucky she's got personality!

 

[3KillerBs]

Here's a thought.... Is it a bad idea for me to be lazy and put them in jail in the run? Should they be completely separate from the rest of the flock? In my garage?

It's good to keep them in the coop or run to avoid having re-integration problems.

 

[Murdy]

Roll out egg trays if you cant collect eggs manually.

The orpington goes broody with or without eggs in the boxes... Not sure that would help.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Broody breeds are going to go broody. You might consider gradually phasing out your hens as they become aged and replace them with non broody breeds.

x2. Unfortunately with broody breeds, you're more likely to have this issue.

I don't know of any way of preventing broodiness. I'm pretty good at recognizing the signs of an incoming broody cycle, but there's nothing you can really do before they broody other than get the breaker cage set up and ready to go.

 

[Murdy]

Rosemary do you leave them in cage day and night? I just put my first girl in jail.

Depending on the hen, I leave them in for 1.5-3 days. Overnight, yes. If you let them out and they go straight back to the nest... Back to jail.

I watched a video recently where the guy was saying they'll puff up and potentially squawk/growl at you if they're still broody. I'll be watching for this next time.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Rosemary do you leave them in cage day and night? I just put my first girl in jail.

Yes, they stay caged day and night until broken. I only let them out briefly 2x a day to clean inside, and to refresh food and water. After 48 hours if they show a lot less broody signs (less puffy, less broody sounds) you can start letting them out to see if they run back to the nest or not. If they do, back in the cage for at least another 12-24 hours.

I watched a video recently where the guy was saying they'll puff up and potentially squawk/growl at you if they're still broody. I'll be watching for this next time.

As a general rule this works. I have a couple that still do the broody sounds or puff a bit when they're broken enough to let back out with the rest. I think over time you'll get to know your individual bird's quirks, if any, and that'll help you figure out when they're broken enough to be let back out.

Thanks good to know. She's in a huge dog crate with water and feed. I did put a board for her to roost on at night . Thanks Murdy.

Roost is fine, as long as she isn't trying to brood on top of it! That's pretty unusual though, so unlikely to be an issue. If it is, just remove the roost.

 

[3KillerBs]

Rosemary do you leave them in cage day and night? I just put my first girl in jail.

Yes. Day and night. The broody jail is inside the electric netting.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/outdoor-broody-breaker.76592/

 

[Happy hen lover]

Yes, they stay caged day and night until broken. I only let them out briefly 2x a day to clean inside, and to refresh food and water. After 48 hours if they show a lot less broody signs (less puffy, less broody sounds) you can start letting them out to see if they run back to the nest or not. If they do, back in the cage for at least another 12-24 hours.

As a general rule this works. I have a couple that still do the broody sounds or puff a bit when they're broken enough to let back out with the rest. I think over time you'll get to know your individual bird's quirks, if any, and that'll help you figure out when they're broken enough to be let back out.


Roost is fine, as long as she isn't trying to brood on top of it! That's pretty unusual though, so unlikely to be an issue. If it is, just remove the roost.

Thanks for response Rosemary. I figured it should be constant caging to break the cycle. The roost is just a 1x4 laid in bottom. She's got water and food hanging so I'll let her stew( bad verbage ) for a couple of days. Normally she is very docile and sweet so her broodiness is very different for her.