Will she ever give it up?

[dunnmom]

Been working on breaking a broody for almost 2 weeks, but I haven't had one yet that was this stubborn. I tried the ice packs and frequent removal from the nest box for a little over a week, starting before she committed to sitting. No go. This morning started her 3rd day in the breaker cage. She hates it, which is a good sign. I can't give her a fan because it trips our breakers when we try to run an extention from the garage. What else can I do to help? I really can't give her eggs to sit on. Do I just need more parience?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes.
You did a lot of unnecessary and ineffective work.
The sooner a setting hen goes into the elevated cage, the quicker the hormones change.
It is probably hot where you are so that can take longer. Can you put the elevated cage in a cooler space?

 

[PirateGirl]

My broody randomly decided she was done after about 3 weeks, which is when chicks would have hatched had she had any. In that time I would remove her from the box once or twice a day, she would get up, eat, drink, sometimes dust bathe. Since she did these things I was not worried about her health. I would take all the eggs and then she would promptly return and sit, day and night. Sometimes she would switch boxes to steal whatever eggs the other girls laid. Sometimes for a few hours like 5pm to 8pm I would lock her out of the coop. Everyone was done laying by this time and the weather was nice so I'd just lock everyone out. Then one day close to 3 weeks I locked her out for like 9 hours so she couldn't return to the nest. She was stressed at first, but I threw out some scratch and made her deal with it. Within 24 hours of that incident, she was done. She slept on her empty nest that night, came out the next morning and has not returned to the nest. I don't know if anything I did actually broke her, or if her hormones just ran their course. Like I said, I wasn't worried about her health, so I kinda just let her be. I figured if it continued and she deteriorated, I would intervene. I had a wire cat carrier at the ready Good luck. Hopefully your girl will be done soon!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

There is an old adage that goes something like this.... "Madder than an old wet hen"

A tub or bucket of water in which you can hold the hen up to her wing joints for about 5 or 10 minutes will get her out of the desire to sit.

 

[snow5164]

I stopped using my broody cage , I started placing the broodys in a small tractor with no nesting boxes . After a few days two of them broke the broody , it’s just a matter of hormones changing but a change of scenery seems to speed it along ...

 

[dunnmom]

Yes.
You did a lot of unnecessary and ineffective work.
The sooner a setting hen goes into the elevated cage, the quicker the hormones change.
It is probably hot where you are so that can take longer. Can you put the elevated cage in a cooler space?

Yeah, I did do a lot of unnecessary and ineffective work. This is my 4th broody, and the others broke in only 2 days in the breaker cage. So, what do I know? I can't bring her in the house, and the garage isn't any cooler. I suppose I should stick with the program until she quits. Or give her the cold bath treatment. I've done those before and they didn't help much, but maybe it'll work on her.

 

[PirateGirl]

Yeah, I did do a lot of unnecessary and ineffective work. This is my 4th broody, and the others broke in only 2 days in the breaker cage. So, what do I know? I can't bring her in the house, and the garage isn't any cooler. I suppose I should stick with the program until she quits. Or give her the cold bath treatment. I've done those before and they didn't help much, but maybe it'll work on her.

I would say at this point, it doesn't hurt to try the bath and then back into the cage. Every chicken is different, who knows what she will respond to! Crazy chickens, think they can hatch babies out of thin air! No eggs required!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

People use the elevated cage method and have done so for centuries, even in the tropics. A hen's body temperature is about 102. If it gets cooler than that at night, the cage works.

 

[Ohmyheart]

I had a broody that sat for over a month. She was getting thin even though we would take her out and lock her out of the coop. She ate, drank and dust bath daily even walked around for hours. We even tried the cold water bath a few times. The minute we opened up the coop she would dart back to sit. She was worse then my silkies. When she still showed no signs of breaking I put an old bird cage on its side and put her in it. Don't worry it was plenty big for her to move around and stand in. It took her five days to break, but she needed to snap out of it.

 

[aart]

and the others broke in only 2 days in the breaker cage.

Had the same experience, then my last one took several sessions in the crate over a 2-3 week period. I thought I had her broke a couple times and she went again. Just keep at it.

I would say at this point, it doesn't hurt to try the bath and then back into the cage.

Yes...if it's hot where you live, wetting her belly could help.