Will broody hen ever stop being broody????????

[chickentender8]

Today is day 3 in her broody cage. I let her out for a while, she seemed to be doing fine as long as I was in the pen, as soon as I went out, she was right back in the nest box, so I put her back in the broody cage. I have a small fan propped up beside it to blow some air on her. I have been taking her out at night to let her roost in the coop with the other hens, because I thought she was going to kill herself the first night in the cage. Should I leave her in the cage tonight and cover it, or put the cage in the coop with the other hens? I feel like I am doing something wrong.

 

[salt and pepper]

I dt could take up to two weeks for her to stop being broody

 

[chickentender8]

Say it isn't so!! Well, do I leave her in the cage all night or let her out so she can roost with the other hens? We have rain coming in tonight so I am going to have to let her roost with the other hens in the coop tonight. My husband is going to fix up a roof for the cage so she will not get wet if it is raining in the morning. It was so stressful on her the first night in the cage, so do I cover it at night?

 

[Judy]

I'm not clear on what you are trying to do. Break her? Make her broody?

I let my broodies sit on the nest as they choose, except I make them get up and get some food and exercise at least twice a day. If they're going to stay broody for several weeks, they definitely seem to stay healthier and maintain their weight better this way. Mine usually stay broody about 4 weeks, though I had one who kept at it for 4 months.

 

[Judy]

We were typing at the same time.

If she wants to roost with the other hens, she is not broody. A broody will stay on the nest 24/7, usually getting off once a day for a few minutes to eat, drink, make one large stinky broody poop, and maybe get a little dust bathing or other exercise in.

 

[chickentender8]

I want her to not be broody. I thought if I just let her do her thing it would be ok, but then I worried that she would not eat or drink enough and lose weight. She is not laying and I do not have a rooster so there will be no baby chicks. This is new to me. I have only had chickens since April, and I just do not know what to do.

 

[chickentender8]

She wants to roost with them at night. You know I think I will just do what you said, let her sit in her nest box and just make her get out a few times a day to eat and drink and exercise. This is so stressful on her and me! Mostly me I think! I just want to do the right thing the right way and not freak my poor girl out. I will just keep an eye on her.

 

[Judy]

I understand --- that's what we're here for!

So then I'm guessing the broody cage was to try to break her. A true broody should sit quietly in the cage until she's through being broody. I certainly wouldn't force her to stay in there if it freaks her out.

As I said, sort of, I just let mine be broody til they get it out of their system. There are ways of breaking a broody but I'm not really comfortable with them and never had one work well, anyway. Broodiness is a hormone change. The only real down side to it, besides that they don't lay eggs, is they can lose weight and muscle mass. That's why I make a broody exercise, although in general, I let my chickens do what they want, as much as I can.

If yours wants to roost at night, she could be "sort of" broody, or she could be staying in the nest for another reason. Maybe she doesn't feel well. Maybe she is at the bottom of the pecking order and hides there to avoid being pecked so much. If you want, tell us more about your setup, number and age of chickens, has anything changed recently, etc. and maybe someone will have a helpful guess for you.

 

[Judy]

She wants to roost with them at night. You know I think I will just do what you said, let her sit in her nest box and just make her get out a few times a day to eat and drink and exercise. This is so stressful on her and me! Mostly me I think! I just want to do the right thing the right way and not freak my poor girl out. I will just keep an eye on her.

Sounds like a plan to me! You're a caring chicken owner!

 

[chickentender8]

Thanks! I am trying, I do love my girls!! We have a pen that is about 500 square feet our coop is 8x8, and about 7 feet tall. I have 6 nest boxes in the coop. I have 2 ameraucanas, 2 rhode island reds, 3 black austrolorps and one california white. They have been getting along great but the last few days they have been picking on my ameraucana, I think she is broody, and maybe they are picking on her because they notice her being a little different. They have lots of room and several dead logs and a few stumps to peck at and look for bugs on. They get fed their feed and scratch, some chicken treats (not everyday!) i bring them grass since they ate all theirs out of the pen. I try to take care of them the best I can, so all this has been a little stressful for her and alot for me!!!