Broody ever after and sleeping in separate rooms

[Sandrine]

Two odd things are happening in my run...
Firstly, my eldest girl Peep, a bantam Pekin Buff (pied) has been broody since March or April... She's 3½ years old. She hatched about 5 eggs in April. She doesn't lay anymore. She comes out every morning, sometimes she comes out for a few minutes in the day but otherwise she spends her days sat in a nest... I have tried to break her out by keeping her in my puppy's crate (without the puppy who's grown out if the crate), this has worked last year.. but not this year. We collect the eggs everyday, but she sits on nothing.
If she comes out then Punky our cockerel who's 1½ years old just takes this opportunity to jump on her. She's not really bothered to be fair. She's really a proper mother hen. Just wondered if it is ok or if I should try and break her out again? She seems in good health otherwise.

The second odd thing is this... I have young girls, all hatched this last March/ April (2 from the 5 I mentioned above) and the other I incubated. This one is about ready to lay soon. The other two are a couple weeks younger. When the youngest were big enough I put them with the 3rd ones, as soon as I had moved all the boys out. They were in a run annexed to the big one so they could all get used to each other safely. They have been mixing together in the main run now for about 2 weeks. There's is still a very minor amount of bullying but nothing to cause concern. The young ones still have access to the run they were in as it's inside the main one, just with the doors open now. They also still have access to their sleeping quarters, a one room coop inside the small run.
They still go to bed there at night, about half hour after the elders go in the main coop. Isn't it odd that they don't share the same coop yet? Should I force the issue by denying them access to their tiny coop?

 

[Icemaiden]

You could try taking them out of the small coop & putting them into the main coop after they've gone to sleep. After you've done this for a few nights, they'll probably get the idea...

 

[Marigold]

If you do as IceMaiden suggests, they will have the chance to get familiar with the main coop, and inspect the nest boxes, where presumably you would prefer them to lay, in company with the older girls. Also, you would only have one coop to keep clean, and would have the luxury of a clean spare coop in case you need to isolate an injured or poorly bird, or if you add to the flock.
I would simply clean the small coop and shut it up. Go down well after roosting time and if they are not in the main coop, you could put them in for a night or two. So long as you leave it until it’s almost too dark to see, you may find they will have gone in of their own accord, which is obviously better. Sleeping and waking up together will help complete their integration as they will then smell right to the older ones.

Is Peep very thin, is she coming out to eat and drink? Long spells of broodiness can take their toll. Maybe, if you will have the spare run section available because the youngsters are in the big coop, you might try shutting Peep in there, with the coop closed so she can’t get in to a nest box? Just let her sleep out in the open, so long as she has some shelter overhead from rain. The only way to readjust her hormones is by exposure to as much light and cooler air as possible. After so long broody, this will take a while, but will be in her best interests, providing exercise and and enabling her to build herself up before the winter weather comes. There has to be a certain amount of stress involved, as well as light and cooler conditions, to help her hormones return to normal, so she ‘realises ‘ conditions for brooding are unsuitable. Do let us know how it goes.

 

[Sandrine]

Ok I see what you both mean on getting the younger ones in the main coop. I will give it a go. I didn't know whether forcing their hand so to speak was the right thing to do. But ok, ?

Peep has lost some weight but you only notice if you pick her up. Her feathers are still very soft and puffy so she still looks like "the mama" of the flock. Her face and comb just on the pink side compared to red months ago.
Yes she comes out to eat and drink but only a couple times a day. We bring her treats of sweetcorn so she doesn't miss out when the others get some.
I've get her out the coop, in the run a few times but she still ended up back in eventually. So I can try keep her in the spate space once the little ones are fully integrated...

Will let you know how it all goes.
Thank you both

 

[Marigold]

It won’t be easy with Peep, after being broody for such a long time, but it’s like sending her to a drug rehabilitation clinic - she needs to spend time out of the dark cosy box and be forced to live a normal life. It may take at least a couple of weeks, but if you give in too early, she will revert and all the effort will have been wasted.
I once had a Buff Sussex hen (Marigold, see my avatar) who went broody regularly, every few weeks, every summer. I kept the end section of the run ready to screen off at the first signs, and penned her in there until she was back to normal. She would march around, squawking loudly, getting plenty of exercise, and looking piteous, but after a couple of days she could be allowed back with the others. I would then observe to see if she went back in the nest box. If she did so, it was back in the ‘clinic’ for a while longer. Once Peep has recovered from this episode, I’m sure she’ll be the same next year, so you will need to be alert for the early signs, and if you don’t want to let her hatch chicks, you will need to help her get over it ASAP before it gets too ingrained. I think that, if you have space to confine a broody in a small, bare run with no coop, it’s much kinder and more effective than shutting them up in a small cage, as is sometimes advised.
Good luck, and please do send progress reports on this very common problem, especially with bantams.

 

[Sandrine]

Thank you Marigold
Peep goes broody two or three times a year normally. I let her hatch once a year. And the other 2 times she would normally come out quite quickly without any intervention. The other Pekin buff I used to have always needed an intervention, but only a couple days... I would put her in a huge indoor rabbit cage and she would be fine.
It's the first time that Peep has gone broody, hatched the eggs, and then stayed broody. The cage trick didn't work. I thought if a week didn't make any difference, then I felt bad for carrying on any longer. Then I was using the spare run for the youngs in a different part of the garden, until the walk-in run got built and then I put it in there as I thought it would be a better way to get them to know each other and integrate the flock. So yes I also think having her there is better than in the cage as at least she kind of still with the others, but without getting jumped on by our cockerel Punkie lol
We're on day 2 so far and she's walking about, making craters for her dustbaths, pecking eating and drinking ?
Last night was the first night for the young ones in the big coop. Mickie, the eldest of the 3 went in by herself, but the other 2 had to be taken in as they were just cooped up together in the main run just at the little run's door, getting wet in the rain. They could have chosen the sheltered part of the run to be fair, but they probably thought it was an oversight on our part lol They were absolutely fine this morning though. Hopefully they'll pick up on it tonight and go to bed in the right place with their big sister lol ?

 

[Sandrine]

Shelley and Ash still haven't understood where their bed is after second night...
But on Day 3 looks like Peep is back to her normal more sociable self ???

 

[Marigold]

Glad to hear about Peep. Even if you let her back to roost with the others, it might be good to still separate her so she can’t get back into the coop during the day. After another couple of days, let her out and watch what she does during the day. As she won’t be back in lay for a while, if she stays out of the coop she will show she is cured, temporarily.

 

[Sandrine]

She spent the other night in the coop with the others. It was getting quite cold so I felt bad knowing the others were comfy in the coop and she wasn't... ?
But she can't have gone to sleep in the nesting box because Ash and Shelley had already claimed it along with Punkie and Tilly!
So she came out in the morning and stayed out all day in the run with everyone else. She went back in once but we took back out in the run and she stopped outside all day. I think she only went in because Tilly was in there to lay her daily egg. They are best friends ? Punkie tried to jump on her as well but she was firm and stood her ground and made him understand that she just wasn't in the mood for that. He went and found another girlfriend... Well it's not like he's not spoilt for choice lol.
We'll see what today is like, with very different weather conditions, very wet!
Last night Ash and Shelley still had to be moved into the coop to bed...