Dunking Broodies in Cold Water?

[aart]

If I haven't broken them yet I'll dunk them and put them in a cage.

I've never needed to dunk one....just the crate does the trick.

My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop with feed and water.

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

 

[Patinas]

@aart Thanks! Taking them off the nest for 5-6 hours a day and putting them on the roost at night for 3 days and nights didn't work so I'm going to do the cage method. Since there's two of them I'm going to put them in the cage together...I think they'll be okay. I'll just have to keep an eye on them. They are both pretty persistent that they want to sit on the nest. I'd try dunking them but it's rainy and cold so that just seems a bit cruel to do to them when the weather is like this.

 

[aart]

I'd try dunking them but it's rainy and cold so that just seems a bit cruel to do to them when the weather is like this.

Exactly! I wouldn't dunk a broody unless it was mid summer and hot and she wasn't broken with in 3 days.

 

[Patinas]

Well, I put them in chicken jail this afternoon. Two hens in the same crate and they were not happy! I'll leave them in there until tomorrow and then let them out for a bit to see if they stay off the nest. I put a small waterer in there with them and some food in a bowl but of course they dumped the food bowl in their panic. I'll check them before dark and refill the food so they have something for the morning.

Hope this works!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Broodies act a little frantic because they want to go back to the nest. Sometimes they do knock over food and water from pacing around, so just have to check on that when you can. I hope the crate you have is big enough for them both.

 

[aart]

I put a small waterer in there with them and some food in a bowl but of course they dumped the food bowl in their panic.

Argh! I hated that, what a mess!
Why the nipple bottle and hanging feeder(pet store bird dept) got employed on my crates.

 

[Patinas]

Broodies act a little frantic because they want to go back to the nest. Sometimes they do knock over food and water from pacing around, so just have to check on that when you can. I hope the crate you have is big enough for them both.

Yes, it's a kennel for a large dog and plenty big for two hens.

Last night, one of the hens went up on the roost but the other headed back to the nestbox so I put her in the kennel again. I'm worried though because she is so skinny! All I feel is her breast bone when I pick her up. I saw her eating grass yesterday while out of the coop but haven't seen her eat any feed. I have food in there for her but not sure if she's eaten any of it because she keeps spilling over the bowl and I keep refilling it.

I'll try offering her some tuna and meal worms and see if she has her appetite back yet.

 

[junebuggena]

Yes, it's a kennel for a large dog and plenty big for two hens.

Last night, one of the hens went up on the roost but the other headed back to the nestbox so I put her in the kennel again. I'm worried though because she is so skinny! All I feel is her breast bone when I pick her up. I saw her eating grass yesterday while out of the coop but haven't seen her eat any feed. I have food in there for her but not sure if she's eaten any of it because she keeps spilling over the bowl and I keep refilling it.

I'll try offering her some tuna and meal worms and see if she has her appetite back yet.

Broody hens barely eat or drink. It's pretty normal behavior, considering she's still broody. Once she's broken from brooding, her appetite should return to normal.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Broody hens barely eat or drink. It's pretty normal behavior, considering she's still broody. Once she's broken from brooding, her appetite should return to normal.

That is the best argument for dunking an old setting hen in cold water that I've read in quite some time. Allowing a hen to set to no effect is a cruel practice that only highlights the chicken keepers laziness.

It seems that some of you have yet to differentiate from dunking in cold water to break broodiness and dunking a hen in boiling water in order to make chicken soup.

 

[junebuggena]

That is the best argument for dunking an old setting hen in cold water that I've read in quite some time. Allowing a hen to set to no effect is a cruel practice that only highlights the chicken keepers laziness.

It seems that some of you have yet to differentiate from dunking in cold water to break broodiness and dunking a hen in boiling water in order to make chicken soup.

The elevated cage works just as well, especially if weather makes it unsafe to dunk in water. It's almost always cold, wet, and windy here. Dunking a hen in cold water is cruel under those conditions. My broodies will brood, no matter how wet they get. It's unlikely that the hen is in any danger of starvation at this point in time, since it's only been a few days of broody behavior. I do agree that letting a hen sit indefinitely with no intention of allowing her to hatch and raise chicks is not in the best interests of keeping the hen healthy. But I do think that everybody has their own way of managing their flocks. What works for one may not for another. It doesn't mean they are neglectful if they choose another way to break a broody hen.