what to do with a broody hen

[wpchicks]

We have one B.O. 10 months old who has a tendency to not budge from the nest box for days. This time
she is on day 3. We have no need for her to be broody, we don't have a rooster. Is there something we should do
or just leave her a lone? Do hen's eat and drink in this stage, we can't seem to get her out, with the
exception of picking her up and removing her. We have two other hens and the broody one seems to
be the meek one of the group - I love my Cookie, just want her out of the nest box so we can get our
eggs in production again, and don't want Alice and Bossy Betty buggin' her.

I'm sure there are links about this topic, but I could only found post about broodiness and hatching.
Thanks for the help.

 

[<3ChickenForever]

I had some broody hens but everyday we'd take their eggs and they soon understood that they couldn't lay on any eggs without us taking them. So Pick up your hen and put her pack outside and take the eggs. When she goes back she'll realize they're gone.

 

[wpchicks]

We'll try it. Thanks.

 

[<3ChickenForever]

Glad to help!

 

[DelcoChix]

I just went though the exact same thing with two of my young (7-8 months ) BCM pullets last October, so I can relate completely-no rooster and couldn't believe how young they both were when they got the mommy bug...very exasperating. I ended up (after posting on BYC just as you did) pushing them out of the nestbox, as often as I was home. When I did that they would get food and water and later hop back in, but one got over her broodiness within about 7 days, the other was close to three weeks...with her I ended up, every day, throwing her out of the coop and run, away from the nestboxes. I had (had two, now only one... sad story) two Buckeye hens that had free rein of our place as they'd get picked on terribly by the rest of the flock when in the run.
Anyways, I put "Fang" (my dd named her,, don't ask)outside with Nugget and Patty each day, she would pace back and forth around (outside of) the run area, then meander around the backyard eating, then return to pace, but within a week she was back to her old (young) self and got back to business laying those beautiful eggs.
I had also read to put them in a cage with a wire floor with food and water, they will not want to brood on that surface. In 2 1/2 years and a couple dozen pullets and hens, these were the first I'd had go broody so I didn't have the cage set-up...good luck.

 

[Kathleen1115]

We have a 25 week old EE who went broody this week -- our first one. We kicked her out of the hen house and the first day she was awful -- pacing, clucking, throwing herself at the side of the henhouse where the nesting boxes are. At night we let her back in the house but had to block the nesting boxes and she was still trying to figure out how to get in. The second day she was better behaved but we still couldn't let her near the boxes -- which was a big pain trying to let the other girls in to lay. Yesterday was day three -- we left the hen house open and the boxes open and she didn't go near them until bedtime so I had to block them for the night. We'll see how she does today.

The worst part has been that she has thrown everyone else's laying off. The first day I was home to rotate everyone so they could have peaceful access to the boxes and they all laid. The second day we tried to keep a couple of them in at a time for a few hours at a time and only succeeded in freaking everyone out. Yesterday we only got one egg from five girls. We'll see what happens today.

One remaining question -- how long until our broody girl starts laying again? She laid the first day of the broody spell but hasn't since and she was a daily layer.