The Semi-Broody Broody: A Plea for Help

[thecatumbrella]

I have a 20 week-old Cochin (Pekin) Bantam named Dandelion. She started laying right before 18 weeks. This breed is notoriously broody, so I joked that she would lay 8 eggs before trying to sit on them. Well...

She literally laid 8 eggs and tried to sit on them.

This is my first experience with a broody hen, and I'm in way over my head. Let me give you a breakdown of Dandelion's day to explain my problem:

- Wake up, act normal.
- Realize there's an egg coming up to SIX HOURS IN ADVANCE. Hop in the nest box.
- Immediately go broody upon entering the nest box.
- Eventually lay said egg.
- Sit on egg until the end of time.
- Get booted from box. Growl and pancake on the ground.
- Get moved back to main pen. Forget all about the nest, broodiness, etc. Act normal.
- Repeat every day for over a week.

She is on an 11-day laying streak, so is clearly not full-on broody. She also breaks instantly if I remove her from the nest after she's laid her egg. If I try to remove her before she's laid, she enters this endless panicked state of squawking, pacing, and trying to get back to the nest. She will not eat or drink.

The original plan was to do the elevated dog crate to "break" any broodies, but I just don't see how I can do that if her broodiness seems to be triggered by the need to lay an egg! And like I said, she's not just staying in pancake mode and growling. I'm worried she'll hurt herself. For example: I had her separated in my basement brooder for several hours this week (heat wave), and she kept leaping up into the wire lid trying to escape! Ended up throwing a towel over it to calm her down. Then, lo and behold, she eventually laid an egg and immediately went back to her normal self.

I don't know how to handle this long term, other than to just keep doing what I'm doing. Any tips or advice, even just a "I've got one of those too!", would be so much appreciated. How does one handle a semi-broody broody?

Video example attached from this morning. She sat on the nest overnight for over 12 hours (couldn't get to her because of a severe storm). The second my husband removed her, she went back to normal.

 

[TOMTE]

This is funny BUT also frustrating, I'm sure. Would you object to her going full broody? Or would you rather break her?

You could try putting frozen jugs of water in the nest boxes, might make her want to get in and out as quick as she can.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I have a 20 week-old Cochin (Pekin) Bantam named Dandelion. She started laying right before 18 weeks. This breed is notoriously broody, so I joked that she would lay 8 eggs before trying to sit on them. Well...

She literally laid 8 eggs and tried to sit on them.

This is my first experience with a broody hen, and I'm in way over my head. Let me give you a breakdown of Dandelion's day to explain my problem:

- Wake up, act normal.
- Realize there's an egg coming up to SIX HOURS IN ADVANCE. Hop in the nest box.
- Immediately go broody upon entering the nest box.
- Eventually lay said egg.
- Sit on egg until the end of time.
- Get booted from box. Growl and pancake on the ground.
- Get moved back to main pen. Forget all about the nest, broodiness, etc. Act normal.
- Repeat every day for over a week.

She is on an 11-day laying streak, so is clearly not full-on broody. She also breaks instantly if I remove her from the nest after she's laid her egg. If I try to remove her before she's laid, she enters this endless panicked state of squawking, pacing, and trying to get back to the nest. She will not eat or drink.

The original plan was to do the elevated dog crate to "break" any broodies, but I just don't see how I can do that if her broodiness seems to be triggered by the need to lay an egg! And like I said, she's not just staying in pancake mode and growling. I'm worried she'll hurt herself. For example: I had her separated in my basement brooder for several hours this week (heat wave), and she kept leaping up into the wire lid trying to escape! Ended up throwing a towel over it to calm her down. Then, lo and behold, she eventually laid an egg and immediately went back to her normal self.

I don't know how to handle this long term, other than to just keep doing what I'm doing. Any tips or advice, even just a "I've got one of those too!", would be so much appreciated. How does one handle a semi-broody broody?

Video example attached from this morning. She sat on the nest overnight for over 12 hours (couldn't get to her because of a severe storm). The second my husband removed her, she went back to normal.

Other than the necessity of evicting her from the nest on a daily basis, is she causing problems otherwise? (Keeping others from nesting, etc.)

Maybe a portable fan would work. Ours lay despite the fan, but then they hop out immediately.

We’re trying to figure out if our Buff Orp is doing this. She sits for hours, finally laying, but she generally comes out on her own. She doesn’t growl or fluff, but she sure sings her egg song while waiting for the others to depart the nests.

I’m wondering if she’s just trying to escape the others. If she took a cell phone in there with her, that would clinch it.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Would you object to her going full broody? Or would you rather break her?

You could try putting frozen jugs of water in the nest boxes, might make her want to get in and out as quick as she can.

Well, there is nothing for her to hatch, and I'm immune to chicken math, so I'd prefer to stop her. I probably need to break up the communal nest box. Then I could try the frozen water bottle idea for wherever she's sitting!

Other than the necessity of evicting her from the nest on a daily basis, is she causing problems otherwise? (Keeping others from nesting, etc.)

Maybe a portable fan would work. Ours lay despite the fan, but then they hop out immediately.

Yes and no. Hornet is about to start laying, and of course, everyone wants "back wall" of the communal nest box. Dandelion also scared her out of the box this morning with her murder trills.

And believe it or not, she had a fan on her all night! We have a massive industrial fan that we use in the run, so I think they've become jaded to having their feathers rustled. It's a good idea though!

 

[BoundlessLove]

Dandelion! Not you, again!
I can laugh, because we’ve been there before with a RIR hen.
She would take forever to lay her egg and when she did she’d sit there for hours.
If I went to move her, you would think she was being murdered!
She even pecked her down out under her chest to “nest”.
We gave up and let her sit it out and be broody. Several times.
The longest she sat was four days. She was a quitter.
No long term staying power.

All that to say, what harm can it to let her try? You will find out if she is a setter or a quitter.
I’m rooting for her.
Go Dandelion!!

 

[thecatumbrella]

All that to say, what harm can it to let her try? You will find out if she is a setter or a quitter.
I’m rooting for her.
Go Dandelion!!

Stop encouraging her! You're supposed to be on MY team!

Honestly, it will be less of an issue when it's not 100 degrees in the nest box. We seem to get a heat wave every other week this summer. Fingers crossed this is the end of it!

 

[TOMTE]

2 of my girls (Esme and Gytha, but mainly Esme) spend a lot more time in the next box than they need to. They'll be in and out for a few hours sometimes before actually laying an egg. They'll lie in the nest, come out and wander around complaining, back in the nest, back out to wander and complain some more, back in... Eventually they lay the egg. The others are all business, in, lay, out.

Recently Esme seems to be looking around for another place to nest. So far she hasn't laid anywhere other than the next box but I've wondered if she's trying to go broody or if she just wants a nest to herself since she's low in the pecking order. She'll pick around certain areas and chuckle. It's endearing to hear and watch... But I don't want any hidden nests!

 

[TOMTE]

Stop encouraging her! You're supposed to be on MY team!

Honestly, it will be less of an issue when it's not 100 degrees in the nest box. We seem to get a heat wave every other week this summer. Fingers crossed this is the end of it!

The heat is the worst, most confusing part! Like, why are you doing this to yourself?!

 

[thecatumbrella]

2 of my girls (Esme and Gytha, but mainly Esme) spend a lot more time in the next box than they need to. They'll be in and out for a few hours sometimes before actually laying an egg. They'll lie in the nest, come out and wander around complaining, back in the nest, back out to wander and complain some more, back in... Eventually they lay the egg. The others are all business, in, lay, out.

This is exactly what I'm used to (with my previous flock)! It's almost like they get a signal (maybe a cramp?), head in the box, realize it's not quite ready yet, go in and out, etc.

They don't just park it for the day and think, "I guess I'm a mother now!" UGH!

 

[TOMTE]

This is exactly what I'm used to (with my previous flock)! It's almost like they get a signal (maybe a cramp?), head in the box, realize it's not quite ready yet, go in and out, etc.

They don't just park it for the day and think, "I guess I'm a mother now!" UGH!

I guess I can't blame them. I'm guessing they do have cramps/contractions that tell them the egg is about to come, so I imagine they're like a mother going into labor at the hospital, pacing up and down the hall going "GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!"