should i sit a broody hybrid??

[wyndham carruth]

hello there

i have a broody hybrid and am wondering if is should sit her. hybrids arn't known to be the best brooders but, she is very very broody and if you tip her out of the nesting box she just sits on the floor until you're gone and then hops back up again. all my money comes from eggs at the moment, so i don't really want to loose an egg layer.

what do people suggest?? and what should i do if i don't want her to sit.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

Give her 1 egg and some golf balls. Then you're only out one egg if shes quits on you. If you dont want to let her hatch you can try the cold water butt dunk.... they hate that. Or the frozen bottle in her box. Or just keep taking her out and away from the box. But in my experience once they have their mind set they dont give up easily. My buffs had everyone broody this year. Even my polish and marans. Now I collect eggs 3x a day so no one gets any ideas.

 

[TelfTheElf]

hi windy
no great info for me to add after that V V V V helpful epistle before!!!
Thanks jonezjollyfarm!!!

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

No problem. Just sharing my knowledge. I know how it was when I had questions.

 

[aart]

and what should i do if i don't want her to sit.

Best way to break them is a raised wire bottom crate.
Dunking in cold water and bottles of ice is last resort IMO.

May still take a week or so for them to go back to laying after breaking.
Might depend on how long she has been broody and/or if she is of an age to have a molt(~18 months)


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 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.

 

[wyndham carruth]

great that's really handy thanks