Rehoming my Broody and Feeling so Guilty!!

[oldhen2345]

My Blue Wyandotte, Blueberry, has been excessively broody all spring and summer. She's only a year old, hatched in May 2018 and was a very late bloomer-- didn’t start laying until March of this year. Shortly after, I noticed she was staying in the nest box at night so I always lifted her to the roost. Then I started blocking all nest boxes every evening to keep her out but she was still sitting in the nest all day long. I'd take her out several times a day and she'd always run back after a dust bath and forego free ranging with the flock. So I resorted to putting her in a crate with a wire bottom propped up off the ground with bricks for a few days, which did the trick. However, this entire scenario has happened 4 times so far! She's normal for about a month then it's back to the broody cycle.

I know she's broody, she's not sick and no parasites are present. She growls and fluffs up when I take her out of the nest and she's plucked all the feathers from her belly. I'm not allowed to have a rooster here in town and even though I'd love to give her some hatching eggs or even some day old chicks to raise, I cannot have more chickens in my small suburban yard. It's become apparent that poor Blueberry just isn't cut out for single life... she want's to be a mom and I can't change her mind.

I found a new home for her out in the country. They have 2 coops and free range their birds and have only one Silkie rooster. I don't want Blueberry to go by herself and be all alone in unfamiliar territory so I'm sending her best friend Muffin, along to help with integrating in their new flock. Muffin is a Buff Orpington and actually pretty mean to my other birds.

Now I'm having terrible regret and wonder if the silkie will be a good mate for her. I'll miss these birds so much since I raised them from chicks, but I know I just can't keep dealing with all this broody behavior and it doesn't seem fair to keep putting Blueberry in a cage every month. I really think they'll both have a better life on a farm but I still just can't stop crying and being sad.
How do I deal with this awful guilt?
How will this affect my remaining 4 birds?

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I had to look twice to make sure I had not posted this. That is exactly what happened to my Alberta- also a Buff Orpington. I took the same steps you did. She was my baby, but got too bossy. She was mean to the other chickens- except for her friend Daisy, a Gold Laced Wyandotte. She would stand at the gate and screech in the morning until I came out to feed. She would even scream at me in the evenings from the door of the coop until I went it - I guess she thought it was bed time and I should be inside. I rehomed them both to a good friend in the country.

 

[feathermaid]

I had to look twice to make sure I had not posted this. That is exactly what happened to my Alberta- also a Buff Orpington. I took the same steps you did. She was my baby, but got too bossy. She was mean to the other chickens- except for her friend Daisy, a Gold Laced Wyandotte. She would stand at the gate and screech in the morning until I came out to feed. She would even scream at me in the evenings from the door of the coop until I went it - I guess she thought it was bed time and I should be inside. I rehomed them both to a good friend in the country.

That's funny... cuz I thought BOs were supposed to be so sweet and docile and usually bottom of the pecking order. After they left, my remaining birds here were a little concerned the first few days and seemed to call out loudly for them at times. But it's been a week now and my little flock is so much more peaceful. Everyone's laying and there's no squabbling at night anymore at all. I still miss my very sweet broody Blueberry, but I know she's living in a more suitable home for her and the trouble maker is keeping her company.

 

[oldhen2345]

That's funny... cuz I thought BOs were supposed to be so sweet and docile and usually bottom of the pecking order. After they left, my remaining birds here were a little concerned the first few days and seemed to call out loudly for them at times. But it's been a week now and my little flock is so much more peaceful. Everyone's laying and there's no squabbling at night anymore at all. I still miss my very sweet broody Blueberry, but I know she's living in a more suitable home for her and the trouble maker is keeping her company.

That's what I thought. Alberta must have been one of a kind. She would sit on my lap and talk to me every morning and in the evening while I watched chicken TV. She got real mean to the other hens - would chase them in the yard to peck them. So, she had to go, but I still miss her and her new mom tells me she is the same there. Just a mean old biddy.

 

[feathermaid]

That's what I thought. Alberta must have been one of a kind. She would sit on my lap and talk to me every morning and in the evening while I watched chicken TV. She got real mean to the other hens - would chase them in the yard to peck them. So, she had to go, but I still miss her and her new mom tells me she is the same there. Just a mean old biddy.

Oh, I meant my Buff Orp, Muffin, was pretty mean too, causing all sorts of ruckus in my flock. So I was happy to hear I didn't have the only one. Her only real friend was my sweet broody wyandotte, and they're off together now. It'll take some time yet for them to settle in... but I wonder if Muffin will continue her old ways like yours did. It's my hope that she'll at least protect her friend (my favorite girl Blueberry) from any other potential bullies.