To let a broody hen brood?

[GritChicks]

I have been all over this site searching for info regarding broody hens, but it seems a bit mixed, and my scenario seems different enough from others that I thought I'd just ask my own question today.

Background: I have a 15 month old Buff Orpington who was isolated due to injury 4 months ago, and went broody. We broke the cycle with a wired cage and 5 days of patience. She has been healthy and out with her flock since that time, and is even the top of the pecking order (which I hear is odd for Orpingtons, especially when in a sea of skittish Americana's and her master in command, a barred rock).

Current: 14 days ago, in the heat of summer, she has decided to go broody once more. We quickly isolated her in her wired cage. After 5 days, she seemed okay, but then on day 6 was right back to her nesting box, fluffed out and aggressive. We tried isolation in the cage once more, fans and ice packs around her, and still after day 5 she was back to her nesting box. We have a small backyard flock, only allowed 6 chickens in city limits and we are at 5 total now. No eggs are fertilized, as roosters are not allowed, so she will not be hatching any chicks. I go out every day and remove her from her box in the mid morning, she gets food, water, runs around yelling at her flock mates, and within an hour she's back in her box. I go out at night and place her from her nesting box, up onto the roost poles with her sisters. In the morning, she comes out, drinks water, and goes back to her nesting box.

Obviously I cannot continue to go out every hour and remove her from the box, and I cannot lock the other hens out of their nesting box (as we only have 2 and they are connected). The other birds are decreasing their egg production in response, which is fine, so long as it is healthy.

My questions are as follows:
1) as we are on day 14, and the broody buster cage is not working, can I just let her brood as I have been, getting her out once per day to drink and eat, but not stress much if she goes back in and broods most of the day?
2) If I do this, will she break her brood around day 21, or am I prolonging the cycle by taking her out of the box every day?
3) And finally, is it okay that my other hens are not laying as frequently, or should I keep the broody hen in complete isolation so the others are not inspired to brood or get sick?

Thanks for your help and advice in advance!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hens will remain broody until their reserves fall low enough to cause them to break. I've left them sit, some will break after 2 months, others will go longer, so she will not break after 21 days. So leave her or break her. Those that go broody tend to go broody over and over.

The key to breaking them is that they can't sit down tight to heat up, so the cage needs to be elevated with a roost so her bottom cools off. Some are more stubborn than others.

Most hens over a year of age are decreasing in egg laying. It's normal this time of year. Most will quit in the next few months to molt.

 

[aart]

as we are on day 14, and the broody buster cage is not working,

She's been in the cage for 14 days straight?
It's raised up off the floor/ground?

I leave them in the cage, with food and water, all day and all night.
Cage is right in the coop.
I do let them out at least once a day, usually an hour before roost time,
to stretch their legs, mingle with the flock, and see where they go.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have been all over this site searching for info regarding broody hens, but it seems a bit mixed, and my scenario seems different enough from others that I thought I'd just ask my own question today.

Background: I have a 15 month old Buff Orpington who was isolated due to injury 4 months ago, and went broody. We broke the cycle with a wired cage and 5 days of patience. She has been healthy and out with her flock since that time, and is even the top of the pecking order (which I hear is odd for Orpingtons, especially when in a sea of skittish Americana's and her master in command, a barred rock).

Current: 14 days ago, in the heat of summer, she has decided to go broody once more. We quickly isolated her in her wired cage. After 5 days, she seemed okay, but then on day 6 was right back to her nesting box, fluffed out and aggressive. We tried isolation in the cage once more, fans and ice packs around her, and still after day 5 she was back to her nesting box. We have a small backyard flock, only allowed 6 chickens in city limits and we are at 5 total now. No eggs are fertilized, as roosters are not allowed, so she will not be hatching any chicks. I go out every day and remove her from her box in the mid morning, she gets food, water, runs around yelling at her flock mates, and within an hour she's back in her box. I go out at night and place her from her nesting box, up onto the roost poles with her sisters. In the morning, she comes out, drinks water, and goes back to her nesting box.

Obviously I cannot continue to go out every hour and remove her from the box, and I cannot lock the other hens out of their nesting box (as we only have 2 and they are connected). The other birds are decreasing their egg production in response, which is fine, so long as it is healthy.

My questions are as follows:
1) as we are on day 14, and the broody buster cage is not working, can I just let her brood as I have been, getting her out once per day to drink and eat, but not stress much if she goes back in and broods most of the day?
2) If I do this, will she break her brood around day 21, or am I prolonging the cycle by taking her out of the box every day?
3) And finally, is it okay that my other hens are not laying as frequently, or should I keep the broody hen in complete isolation so the others are not inspired to brood or get sick?

Thanks for your help and advice in advance!

If I understand your post correctly, you are now letting her back into the nest box, after 2 unsuccessful 5 day stints in the broody buster cage. Am I reading correctly??? IMO, you are giving up on her too soon. When you let her out of the broody buster cage, if she returns to the nest box at all, she should go back into the broody buster cage and stay there. Continue this until she no longer returns to the nest. Of course, eventually, she will start laying again, in which case, she will go to the nest, but she will produce an egg, then she will leave the nest! IMO, your broody will not inspire other hens to go broody. But, I would not allow her access to the nest boxes until all signs of broodiness are gone.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I feel your angst. We recently ended not one but six birds that wouldn't get with the broody busting program. Weeks on weeks of keeping them in a small pen to let out at end of week only to see them run back to the layer coop nests and sit. Very odd summer of hard core brooding. Strangely enough once I freed up the grow out coop and moved it with them to another location with electric poultry netting for run they snapped out of it in few days. I honestly believe without that move to new location they'd still be pacing in the small run waiting for the chance to run into the layer coop. It took being out of site of their familiar nesting area to break them; even though they weren't allowed access they could still see it.