What do you do with a broody hen?

[Booswalia]

I have 3 hens and only one nesting box. One of my chickens appears to getting broody.
What should I do? I have no experience with this. Will the others just lay their eggs anywhere?
Thanks.

 

[lauralou]

Most likely the others will continue to lay in the one nesting box. There are several possible problems with this. Obviously, they will continue to add eggs to the bunch over the 21 day incubation period. You should mark your original eggs and remove newly laid eggs daily. So the original eggs can all hatch at very nearly the same time, and the hen can leave the nest to care for them.

Sometimes the other hens will drive the broody hen off the nest so they can lay their eggs. Then the broody MAY find another spot, leaving the eggs on the nest to get cold. Or the other hens can pile in right on top of her, and occasionally eggs can get broken that way.

I like to have a special spot for my broody hens. I have built them little broody houses, which are very similar to large doghouses. Some people use dog crates. Others build large nestbox type areas in the coop which have doors on them, so they can close off the other hens, yet let the broody out to poop and stretch her legs every day. Food and water should go inside any of these options.

I always move my broodies off their chosen nest and into their broody box before giving them eggs. I let them stay in the new spot for a couple of days and get used to it, then give the eggs. I've read that others move them at night. Then lock them into the new area so they can't abandon the eggs and return to their favored nest.

Everybody does it differently, so you'll need to decide what is best for your situation.

Good luck!

 

[gaz131]

The ? asked what to do. First of all we need to know if the bird is sitting on fertile egg or just egg she has laid or no eggs at all. ? do you have a cockerel ?. Second do you want it to come out of being broody or would you like it to hatch you some chicks. Third if you only have one box for them to lay can you provide a new one for the other to lay in, or to move the broody bird to ?. If you want to stop the bird from being broody, you can put her in what know as cooler box, a boxed area which has a wire mess floor to allow cool air to her under side, if she cools down she will tend to come out of her broodiness and start laying again this can take a few days . The reason she has become broody in the first place is to incubate the last batch of eggs she has been laying. Which can be anything from 8 to 16 eggs sometimes more. If she is sitting eggs and gets disturbed two much this can put her off sitting and risk lousing the batch of eggs / chicks. When hen becomes broody they make the under side of there body hot to keep the eggs warm removing feathers to keep the eggs close to the skin around 39.5 ` c which starts the process of incubation, if left then hen can sit there for 21 days only getting of the nest for food/water and to defecate, till her chicks hatch or she abandons them due to now chicks hatching. which is a long time to sit there if she has no eggs under her that are fertile. hope that helps all the best Gary

 

[Booswalia]

Thanks for the replies.
I don't have a rooster so the eggs are not fertile. I went out about an hour ago and there were two eggs sitting in the nest so I took them. She was not in the coop at the time.
I went out again a few minutes ago and she's back on the nest and one of the other chickens is in there with her trying to lay.
How long would she do this if I just leave her be? I did put another box in the coop but it looks like they all prefer the original one.

 

[gaz131]

I have found you some info for you to have a read of, telling how, what, where, and when http://www.animalloversweb.com/article_chicken_broody.html

she should come out from my experience within a few day if all the eggs are removed. like I said you could put her into a cooler box to help cool her down which it tell you about in this link, plus if you go in and take her a way from the box lock her out / let her out and allow her time with the other birds to free range the change of scenery and fresh picking could help her to forget what she did have planed

its something that will happen a lot if you have what's know as a broody breed have a read and let me know what you think

 

[Booswalia]

Thanks Gaz. That was a good read.
I went out and removed the egg she was sitting on and I put her out in the pen with the other two chickens and closed the door to the coop. Then I gave them a treat. Hopefully that will take her mind off brooding for a little while. I will go back out in a couple of hours and open hatch again so they can roost for the night.

 

[gaz131]

Your more than welcome just hope it has some answers for you and helps out. Take care

 

[dancingbear]

If she's a persistent broody, you'll need to put her in a cage or nestless pen to get her off being broody. It's not a matter of what she wants, it's her hormones. If her body temp drops a little, her hormones will shift back to normal, and she'll stop brooding. I put mine in a pen with a roof, a perch pole, and no place to make a nest at all, just wire walls and bare dirt. It so far has never taken more than 2 days to snap one out of it.

They don't eat very well when brooding, it can be hard on a hen to stay broody for long periods.