Aggressive, Broody Hen

[EggSighted4Life]

my Orpington, who is known to get broody from time to time has reached a new level and I’m worried. After her latest round (this is 4 now) we put her in her quarentine crate. She’s been in there for 10 days. Drinking but unsure about eating.Today we took her out to see how she is and she became extremely aggressive to the other hens and my husband and i which is not like her. She immediately went for her nesting box and when I went o remove her she picked me several times. usually she breaks after 2-3 days but this time we’re at about it 10. What should I do??? We don’t have a rooster and I’m not about to get fertilized eggs for her to sit on. Looking for guidance. Thanks!

She's not aggressive.. that's just broody behavior.

You describe a quarantine crate.. is it wire bottom and NO bedding??

Is her breaker elevated? Some gals can take longer to break.

I have adopted sexed feed store chicks to a broody hen before who I didn't want to sit or have rooster chicks.

When a gal is too broody for my flock.. she goes elsewhere... that doesn't mind or has the extra space for all the offspring.

 

[WallyG74]

I broke a BA 3 weeks ago. She was easy to break but she didn’t lay for about a week. I have 6 identical hens. I have another one trying to go broody or maybe it’s the same girl. I can’t tell them apart. I don’t have a rooster either so there’s no reason to let her try. Frustrating...

 

[Tamdog]

I have an old "rabbit hutch" it sits up off the ground and has a wire bottom- the broody gets no straw, no bedding or nesting material. Just food and water. We call it the "Penalty Box" . Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 days- I never had one go for as long as you are describing. When I let them out, often the broody either pick at the other hens or the hens pick at her- she has to reestablish her ranking in the pecking order. - Mine usually get mean and peck at me if they have gone broody for a few days before I catch on.

 

[aart]

is it wire bottom and NO bedding??

Like this @Redschickens :

 

[Redschickens]

es, it’s a wire crate with no bottom to try to cool her down. She’s missing all her belly feathers too. And she’s normally a very calm and kind hen so when she’s pecking and jumping on her sister hens it’s hard to watch. We let her out of the crate yesterday for a bit to see what she’d do, and she came out for awhile to range but then I found her back in her nest on an egg (not hers. She’s not laying) later on. I tried to move her into a roost bc she didn’t have that broody stare at least but she went right back to her box

 

[Redschickens]

I broke a BA 3 weeks ago. She was easy to break but she didn’t lay for about a week. I have 6 identical hens. I have another one trying to go broody or maybe it’s the same girl. I can’t tell them apart. I don’t have a rooster either so there’s no reason to let her try. Frustrating...

Agree. And we got 9 new new chicks for a total of 17 hens now and we don’t want more so I don’t want to hatch more

 

[humblehillsfarm]

After 10 days being separated from the flock any chicken would come out of their ready to reestablish their place in the pecking order, and especially a broody hen. I'm surprised she is being so persistent with her broodiness after ten days! Any chance you can let her hatch chicks and simply sell them? These days, you'd likely have no issues selling the chicks.

 

[Redschickens]

She's not aggressive.. that's just broody behavior.

You describe a quarantine crate.. is it wire bottom and NO bedding??

Is her breaker elevated? Some gals can take longer to break.

I have adopted sexed feed store chicks to a broody hen before who I didn't want to sit or have rooster chicks.

When a gal is too broody for my flock.. she goes elsewhere... that doesn't mind or has the extra space for all the offspring.

well that’s the thing for us: we have 17hens now (9 new chicks) and no more room. I don’t want to get eggs to hatch and have to do something bc my kids would be devastated. And yes, her crate is elevated, wire and no bedding. This has been a tough one...

 

[Redschickens]

After 10 days being separated from the flock any chicken would come out of their ready to reestablish their place in the pecking order, and especially a broody hen. I'm surprised she is being so persistent with her broodiness after ten days! Any chance you can let her hatch chicks and simply sell them? These days, you'd likely have no issues selling the chicks.

I have 2 little kids who would be devastated. But I suppose we could make room for 2 more

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I have 2 little kids who would be devastated. But I suppose we could make room for 2 more

I feel ya! I am above max capacity for my coop and have ANOTHER broody hen too. Actually she's the one that's pictured in my profile pic.

Any way you can ask your kids if they'd be okay selling the chicks? Maybe use it as a "business" lesson and they can keep the revenue? Even a mixed breed pullet/cockerel would sell for $10-$20 since you've already done most of the hard work at by the time mama is done around 6 weeks, the chicks are ready to go!