What to do with Broody???

[Chicklette 1]

I have a frizzled cochin bantam hen who has been laying eggs for a few months now and she has gone broody. One problem is that the only eggs that could be fertile are from my silkie couple. My silkie roo has not tried to breed to any of the other hens. I do not want to hatch anything at this time so I collect the eggs a couple time a day. My little broody is sitting on everyones eggs and when I collect the few eggs in the early part of the day, I reach under her but I leave her one egg. I tried taking them all and she still sits in the nest. The nest she has chosen is the favorite nest of all of the other 7 hens and now I find eggs on the floor even when using the dummy eggs in some of the other nests. How do you stop a hen from being broody??

 

[Pinky]

I had to block my nests when I had broodies last year in order for them to give up. I don't want to block it this year and I already have 3 broodies

Here is a link that may help https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=456344

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

blocking the nest worked for one hen, the others just switched nests and continued. Therefor I had to take the hens out and put them in a cage with no nest available and just food and water for about a week. Then they got the idea for about a month.. lol

 

[Ironmaiden]

I feel your pain. I gave in and now have one with chicks and another due in two weeks. Sigh...

 

[woody1]

If you want to stop her from being broody, put her in a "broody coop." New guy here, but I've had chickens off and on since I was a kid and that was a long time ago. My broody coop is just a wire cage about 2' x3' that hangs on the wall of the coop. It also has a wire bottom. Ms. Broody can see the others when they are in the coop. Water and food containers hang on the sides of the cage. She gets water and layer crumbles. Usually takes only a few days. I don't know how long it'll take for your cochins or how long before they go broody again. Aren't they a broody type? There's prob'ly some more info here somewhere. I haven't searched. Regards, Woody

 

[Chicklette 1]

Thank you all for your responses. I am really more concerned about the health of the hen. Will she be OK physically and psychologically if I remove all the eggs and if I isolate her or block the nests. Come to think of it, I can't block the nests because I have other hens laying so I guess isolation would be the only answer. What if I remove the eggs and just let her stay in the nest box without eggs. I do not care if she goes back to laying now or not as it is not like I depend on her little eggs.

 

[azygous]

You have two choices. One is to do nothing and let her sit on her pathetic one egg, commandeering the favorite laying nest. It'll run its course in about a month. But by then, she'll have lost half her body weight, and you'll be a nervous wreck.

The other is to break her. Woody tells you how. The important thing is to deprive her of a snug, dark, warm nest. I find that the broody-breaking process can be hurried by setting up a fan to blow air under her.

I have my second broody right now in the span of two weeks. I set up a broody cage in the pen during the day so she won't miss the company of her flock. It also serves to counter the isolation a broody craves. I let her out for a little while throughout the day to eat and drink with the rest because I don't have a set up to provide for that in her cage. Then at night she's in the cage in the garage with a fan blowing under her all night. The cage MUST have an open mesh bottom and be up off the floor so air can circulate under the broody.

With this system my broodies only last about three days max before they've forgotten why they wanted to go broody. It's a pain when they go broody and you aren't ready to let them sit and hatch. But it's not an insurmountable problem.

You'll know she's broken when she doesn't return to the nest when you free her. That soft broody cluck continues for about half a day after she stops craving the nest. She could start laying again within the week if you're lucky and get her broken quickly after she goes broody.

 

[melloladies]

Quote:
Not trying to hijack...but I have a broody too, and I'm thinking about doing the cage in the garage at night for safety...do you leave the lights on or off???

 

[azygous]

It's better to leave the lights on as long as it's not interfering with anything else in the garage. Light helps counter the broody urge.

However, I don't bother with light at night for my broody, and it doesn't seem to make that much difference. The biggy, in my opinion, is getting air circulating under her, thus the fan is a huge boon.

I was hoping my present broody was broke by now, after two days and one night, but I just found her back on the nest after turning her loose, so she'll be in the garage again tonight with the fan blowing her nether parts. I'm almost certain she'll be broke by morning. That's all it took with the previous broody.

Good luck to all of us broody chicken moms!!

 

[melloladies]

thanks very much! My girlie is in the garage, lights on, with fan! She's been setting since Wednesday, and tonight is my first attempt to break her.