Very Broody Chickens

[MegsEggsx]

Yes, my 3 silkie chicks are adorable!!

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Yes, my 3 silkie chicks are adorable!!

Care to share cute pic!?

 

[MegsEggsx]

These are them at 1 week. They are 3 1/2 weeks old now and are looking a bit scraggly !

 

[SulkyBantam]

Aww! So cute! Well good luck with whatever you choose...

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I tried all of the methods and they just aren’t that effective, are a real time suck, and your hen will go weeks under eating, not exercising, and not socializing. If you aren’t hatching, breaking them is the kinder thing to do. I went with aart’s method in the end, and it was hands down the swiftest and easiest method. My only change was the enclosure is a small enclosed coop, about 50sq feet of space, that sits on the ground. Your hen will complain for a good two or three days and then she will be back to normal. I personal would never dare to risk the lives of month old chicks and put them under a brooder. It just isn’t worth it, but that’s just me. They are cute little chicks by the way!

 

[MegsEggsx]

I tried all of the methods and they just aren’t that effective, are a real time suck, and your hen will go weeks under eating, not exercising, and not socializing. If you aren’t hatching, breaking them is the kinder thing to do. I went with aart’s method in the end, and it was hands down the swiftest and easiest method. My only change was the enclosure is a small enclosed coop, about 50sq feet of space, that sits on the ground. Your hen will complain for a good two or three days and then she will be back to normal. I personal would never dare to risk the lives of month old chicks and put them under a brooder. It just isn’t worth it, but that’s just me. They are cute little chicks by the way!

Yes, I think I just going to isolate them. Should I put the to broodies in together? They are good friends. How big should the cage be if I put them together? Do I put the cage in the run with the other chickens? They normally free range by the way.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Yes, I think I just going to isolate them. Should I put the to broodies in together? They are good friends. How big should the cage be if I put them together? Do I put the cage in the run with the other chickens? They normally free range by the way.

You can put the broodies together. Ideally you’d want at least 1.5-2 square feet per bantam hen, but they will only be in there for 2-3 days so do what you can. Staying in sight of the other flock members is good too, but again it’s just for a few days. Just make sure they are safe from predators and have food and water.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Yes, I think I just going to isolate them. Should I put the to broodies in together? They are good friends. How big should the cage be if I put them together? Do I put the cage in the run with the other chickens? They normally free range by the way.

For faster broody breaking I wouldn't have the broodies together because they could help keep each other warm. You can see pic in @aart post and mine of the cage set up we use. Off the floor for airflow under the hen to help cool her hormones down - and since you have yourself full on broodies with plucked feathers you need to get them broken asap so they can regrow feathers and go back to normal eating and drinking.
I know it's horrible caging them, I feel awful! But it needs to be done for their health since they are not raising chicks.
I put the cage in the run so they can all still see each other. And then I move the cage in my coop at night so they are more safe.
..At the moment yours are confined to the nest box! Haha..Not free ranging So putting them in a cage asap to get them broken is the best idea.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

View attachment 2424588
These are them at 1 week. They are 3 1/2 weeks old now and are looking a bit scraggly !

Oohhh so cute!

 

[MegsEggsx]

So I just finished building a broody cage, since we didn't have a dog cage. I put them in and they didn't seem very happy with me, but they have plenty of water and a buffet of food so they should be fine. How long should I keep them in for?