sitting chicken

[jack45]

I have 5 chickens 2 barreds, and 3 sex links. Problem is one of the sexlinks has been sitting on eggs and wont get off, I am constantly shooing her off to gather eggs. Then she gets right back on nest. How can I stop this habit? I still have the ceramic eggs in nest should remove them? This is their first laying season, and this started just a few weeks ago. Thanks

 

[BellaBokBok]

She sounds like she's just being broody

 

[jack45]

but their is no rooster involved, we dont have one. can she still be broody?

 

[BellaBokBok]

yes
it's really just a mood that hens get into

 

[Red Barn Farms]

Broody hens can be a law unto themselves, and they can go broody with or without fertilized eggs to sit on. If you have a broody you will probably already recognize the signs. When broody, hens are very single minded and will want to sit on the eggs almost constantly, taking only brief breaks for food and the toilet (sometimes they forget to even do that). She may pull out some of the feathers from her belly to feather her nest and allow her to feel the eggs directly on her skin. She could get aggressive screeching and even pecking at anyone who gets close. She will also probably have 'broody poos' (the not very nice result of keeping everything held in for hours on end!).

This is all very well if you want her to hatch chicks, but if you don't (or it's not possible) long periods of broodiness can take their toll on her health and so it is sometimes necessary to take action to stop her being broody.


When broody her body temperature will rise and she will obviously want to get herself comfortable ready for several weeks of being on the nest. The main ideas for stopping broods are centered around stopping her getting herself too comfortable. Sometimes it can be as simple as removing her from the nests several times a day, but a determined broody can be hard to dissuade. The main method I have seen for persistent broods, is to put her in a raised wire cage (or wooden / plastic one with a slatted bottom) for a few days with food and water but no comfy bedding - the idea being that the cool air around her 'bits' and lack of comfort deters her from wanting to settle and hatch eggs. Another method common in 'the old days' which is still sometimes used is to dunk her in a pail of cool (but not really cold) water which will bring her brooding temperature down and perhaps make her indignant enough to give up on being broody altogether.

Editing to add source:

http://successwithpoultry.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-stop-broody-hen-from-staying.html

 

[BellaBokBok]

 

[jack45]

Thanks to all for your help and advice. I think I will wait it out, and keep her off the nest as often as I can.