Questions and Critique my jail box for my broody hen..

[lissalischicks]

So my first attempt at making a "jail" box to break my broody hen. I have a girl who I am pretty sure is going broody. Yesterday at night caught her in the box (she entered around 7pmish) and she did some mild yelling when I took her out. Today when I got home I was informed she was in the box but I thought she laying an egg. Turns out she did, but in the morning, and now was just sitting since noonish. I took her out 30 minutes ago and boy did she scream bloody murder. She has been walking around at since. I also blocked off the nesting boxes. In the meantime made the broody box. So what do you guys think. I will put food in there tomorrow, water is already there and maybe some treats. If she lays another egg will she just lay it there? And what do you guys think? Should I just put her in the box in the morning or wait until we catch her in the nesting box being broody.

The culprit Cotton

 

[lissalischicks]

any opinions???

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

Why don’t you want her broody in the nesting boxes?

 

[lissalischicks]

I am trying to break her. Just realized I didn't mention that. Let me edit my post

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

Ah, okay!

It can be really hard to break broodies, sometimes impossible. But I think that what your doing right now is the best for now.

 

[lissalischicks]

I know!!! We tried last year to break another girl and we felt horrible. We ended up getting eggs for her and she hatched 6 chicks. We just don't have the room but I live in the quarantine area and per the rules, even if the chicks hatched I can't give them away. Then I'm stuck with more chickens than I can have! (well... I always want more but the room is a problem. )

 

[aart]

First, make sure she's actually broody.
Is she on nest most the day and all night for at least 2-3 days running?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

The folded up hardware cloth(?) in there is not good.
Either flatten it out and cut a piece to fit the bottom of the crate,
or better yet get some 14ga 1x2 cage mesh and fit it to bottom of crate.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.
Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.
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