Breaking Broody

[MarlaMac]

One of my hens went broody yesterday. I found my Easter Egger Bantam, April, fluffing up and spreading her wings at any chicken who approached, and she was making broody clucks. I watched her for a long time and checked on her throughout the day, but she was just walking around acting broody instead of on a nest, like she was protective over invisible eggs or chicks. In the evening, I found her sitting on a nest in the corner of the coop and I prepared to check if she had eggs in there. She came out, probably because she knew what I was going to do, and I grabbed and petted her while talking to her for a minute, and then set her back down. I checked the nest and there was nothing in there, so April had been brooding on no eggs. I'm not too worried about it because all of my broody hens have broke and never successfully hatched, but I don't want April to lose too much body weight, or let a snake go under her and let it bite her (we have many copperheads around here and I know broody hens' senses are off and they will brood on snakes). The reason I do not want her to hatch eggs is because the rooster in the flock has a deformed leg－I don't know if he injured it while hatching (because he was shrink-wrapped and needed help), or if it was deformed due to a genetic problem. In case it is the latter, I am not going to risk it and allow his deformity to pass on to chicks. If April continues being like this, she will get stuck in broody jail.

I hope she breaks herself. You could try putting ice packs in the nest she chooses. That is always my first action. May or may not help.

 

[PopoMyers]

One of my hens went broody yesterday. I found my Easter Egger Bantam, April, fluffing up and spreading her wings at any chicken who approached, and she was making broody clucks. I watched her for a long time and checked on her throughout the day, but she was just walking around acting broody instead of on a nest, like she was protective over invisible eggs or chicks. In the evening, I found her sitting on a nest in the corner of the coop and I prepared to check if she had eggs in there. She came out, probably because she knew what I was going to do, and I grabbed and petted her while talking to her for a minute, and then set her back down. I checked the nest and there was nothing in there, so April had been brooding on no eggs. I'm not too worried about it because all of my broody hens have broke and never successfully hatched, but I don't want April to lose too much body weight, or let a snake go under her and let it bite her (we have many copperheads around here and I know broody hens' senses are off and they will brood on snakes). The reason I do not want her to hatch eggs is because the rooster in the flock has a deformed leg－I don't know if he injured it while hatching (because he was shrink-wrapped and needed help), or if it was deformed due to a genetic problem. In case it is the latter, I am not going to risk it and allow his deformity to pass on to chicks. If April continues being like this, she will get stuck in broody jail.

Wouldn't it be easier to break her sooner than later, before the habit is set?

 

[PopoMyers]

You are troopers to be so dedicated as to letting them out for play yard time. I'm more hard-core. Anyhow, my set-up allows me to leave them in jail until they get over it, and in my experience has taken 4 or less days.

1. Use a cage that has a mesh bottom, so that poop can fall through. I have a few rabbit cages which work well. You can also relocate as necessary. The others will clean up any spilled food.
2. If safe, raise said cage above ground.
3. Put a 2x4 in the bottom of the cage for her to roost/sleep on. No need for shavings, bedding, etc. Cool weather is sure helpful, but I've broken them in the middle of summer, too.
4. Of course replenish food and water as-needed. I have a few small nipple waterers (made from sturdy drink bottles).
5. Leave her in there. No field trips allowed until trial evening. She will be ok (although you may not). Relax. Maybe psychologically, when she sees the flock having fun without her, she may break sooner.

I have an almost 4 year old Welsummer, who goes broody at least 2x every summer.

Yes, it is hard for us tender-hearted ones to have to rehome any, cockerels included. I have decided to not take the chance of getting 50% + roos by letting a hen brood. It's too stressful when they grow to be mean attack birds that I fear (and anyone else fears as well), the teenage hormones that cause flock problems, defeathered hens' backs, and noise for neighbors. I have replaced my older girls easily by just getting breeds that are auto sexing or sexed at the hatchery. Of course, it costs, but money well spent to avoid the roo issues.

I've read that if you choose to go the brooding route, make a separate coop and run for all cockerels, who are not allowed to have any contact with your hen flock. Bachelor camp. If you don't have the heart to cull, advertise them as meat birds, or hire someone to butcher for you, if available. Then they go to freezer camp.

 

[Rock17]

My silkie demeter is going to go into broody jail. I have tried everything and she is still broody
Is a cat carrier ok for her to be in?

 

[RoyalChick]

My silkie demeter is going to go into broody jail. I have tried everything and she is still broody
Is a cat carrier ok for her to be in?

I am new at this game so take what I say with a big pinch of salt, but my guess is a cat carrier is too cozy and nest-like to be a good broody jail.
My set up was air and breeze all around her and she could only sit or stand on a single piece of wood on the bottom of the cage.

 

[Rock17]

Ok

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wouldn't it be easier to break her sooner than later, before the habit is set?

x2. Breaking them immediately usually goes faster, reduces tension in the flock (especially if the broody is the super angry type), and gets the hen back to "normal" sooner.

 

[Fortune]

Good luck!

I'll have to keep a diary of how my girls react. I have three now that won't leave the box so should I put them in jail together or separate? I don't have three crates so I'd have to rig something up with hardware cloth and 2x4s.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I hope she breaks herself. You could try putting ice packs in the nest she chooses. That is always my first action. May or may not help.

Wouldn't it be easier to break her sooner than later, before the habit is set?

I am not sure what to do because I have never experienced something as strange as this. She isn't acting like a normal broody, she is acting more like she is half-broody and half-normal. When I went outside yesterday, April was fine with me and not puffing up her feathers like the day before. I grabbed her and held her, and she actually was falling asleep in my hands. She has never done that since she got out of her sweet stage when she was young. I put her down to go feed the other flock of chickens in the other yard, and after multiple minutes of doing that, I came back to check on April. She was walking around like normal without being puffed out, and she wasn't making as many broody clucks but she still was. For some reason, April would let me pick her up without a problem but she would growl and puff up at any other person who tried to pick her up. She was acting really sleepy and kept falling asleep standing up. I looked in the coop and Autumn (a Buff-Laced Polish) was on a nest laying an egg, so I waited until she was done and collected the five eggs on the nest afterwards. Two Polish eggs, one Sussex egg, one unknown large brown egg that I had never seen there before (the chickens from the other yard keep crossing over so I wouldn't doubt that one laid an egg in there), and one egg from April. That really confused me even more. Broodies don't lay eggs when they are still broody, and neither do they just walk around and do nothing instead of actually sitting on anything, and neither do they let anyone hold them for minutes and fall asleep in a human's hands. In all of my chickens experience, this is really weird, does anyone know what is going on?

 

[Buttercup is the best]

I am not sure what to do because I have never experienced something as strange as this. She isn't acting like a normal broody, she is acting more like she is half-broody and half-normal. When I went outside yesterday, April was fine with me and not puffing up her feathers like the day before. I grabbed her and held her, and she actually was falling asleep in my hands. She has never done that since she got out of her sweet stage when she was young. I put her down to go feed the other flock of chickens in the other yard, and after multiple minutes of doing that, I came back to check on April. She was walking around like normal without being puffed out, and she wasn't making as many broody clucks but she still was. For some reason, April would let me pick her up without a problem but she would growl and puff up at any other person who tried to pick her up. She was acting really sleepy and kept falling asleep standing up. I looked in the coop and Autumn (a Buff-Laced Polish) was on a nest laying an egg, so I waited until she was done and collected the five eggs on the nest afterwards. Two Polish eggs, one Sussex egg, one unknown large brown egg that I had never seen there before (the chickens from the other yard keep crossing over so I wouldn't doubt that one laid an egg in there), and one egg from April. That really confused me even more. Broodies don't lay eggs when they are still broody, and neither do they just walk around and do nothing instead of actually sitting on anything, and neither do they let anyone hold them for minutes and fall asleep in a human's hands. In all of my chickens experience, this is really weird, does anyone know what is going on?

I have a few hens that just act broody in that same way, it might just be their personality. As long as they are still laying I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some hens just have a natural mother instinct that can tease you into thinking they are broody.