Broody Hen

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royclrk1

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Hi
I have recently started keeping wyandotte bantams, one of the hens has gone broody, I have tried taking the egg or eggs she lays away and putting her back in the run but after a short while she goes back in again into one of the nest boxes, I have no other place to put her, if I purchased some fertile eggs can she and the chicks if they hatch be left with the other hens?

many thanks Roy
 
Hi Roy. Afraid they and her won't be safe at all with the other hens. They need to be separated completely in a separate broody coop and rat proof run. If she is too young she may not brood reliably anyway. If you have no way of separating her during the day to keep her out of the nest boxes you will have to keep taking her out until she stops. It helps if you block the boxes with upturned plant pots at night. You will find she stops laying eggs and restarts about 2 -3 weeks after stopping brooding.

If its any consolation, we have 6 broodys at the moment and not enough separate runs, so I'm doing exactly the same as described.
 
Join the club Roy! :D I have so many broodies at the moment that when I go into the big run it feels like I am surrounded by bad tempered, fluffed up and clucking hens!
I just remove them from the nest (watch out for the pecks!) and keep doing that each time I go into the runs, eventually they give up. I would give plenty of thought to hatching eggs, you could be making a rod for your back so to speak! :roll:
 
You could take her for a ride to a friend house let her be in new garden for a while(few H) and take her back home.Somtimes this work.I had found that young hens prytty easy to change their mind,somtimes taking out of nest will be eunugh as Foxy sugesting.
 
Good point by Tygresek. We've had success in the past by a complete change of environment, or disorientation Roy. They will only brood if they feel secure, so changing the environment leads to loss of security. Trouble is when broody they are so 'spaced out they don't even realise they are in a different environment !
 
just thought, would it help if I closed the hatch into the roosting shed during the day after everyone is up to keep her from getting to the nest, it will mean if eggs are laid by others they will lay in the run?

roy
 
Hi Roy. Laying in the run is a bad idea. If the egg gets broken and the others eat it they may become egg eaters. They will then raid the nest boxes to get them. Its a very difficult habit to stop.
 
Hi Roy can you fence off a corner of the run for her to live in during the day so she can't get into the coop? Make some kind of shelter to keep her and her food dry if she wants to go under it. ( Old table?) Then when the others have laid their eggs you can close the coop and let her out in the run until you open up again at roosting time. Put big flower pots in the nestboxes overnight so she has to perch.
 
I have one hen that goes broody twice a year and she is at present. I have a dog cage with a wire floor and raise it off the ground with bricks at the corners. She also has a perch- food and water. Chickens do not like sitting on wire so she will not sit. I block off the nest boxes at night in the coop and she is taken from the coop and into the cage when I let them out of the coop in the morning. Then 1 hour before I close them up at night- I close the coop and let her out for exercise and socialising.

Normally takes about 4 or 5 days before she stops being broody but it does work.
 
A slight variation of Tygresek's disorientation approach. Ollie, a Buff Orpington, was again blocked off from the nest boxes last night with plant pots. She sleeps on the coop floor and I have to make sure she isn't under the perches otherwise she gets poo'd on! This morning she moved and met a large runny poo from the perch above. Result is a lot of smelly mess to clean up in the coop and a very dirty hen. She was brought in for a bath and blow dry. Then spent half an hour on my lap while I browsed the forums. Put her back in the run just and no broody noises at all -might have done the job!

Sadly it didn't. Within 15 minutes and she was back being broody. Mistake was putting her back too soon into familiar surroundings. Should have kept her inside until they all went out free ranging. Couldn't do that because she is eating Bottoms comb!
 
Marigold said:
Hi Roy can you fence off a corner of the run for her to live in during the day so she can't get into the coop? Make some kind of shelter to keep her and her food dry if she wants to go under it. ( Old table?) Then when the others have laid their eggs you can close the coop and let her out in the run until you open up again at roosting time. Put big flower pots in the nestboxes overnight so she has to perch.
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I put the flower pots in the nest boxes overnight Marigold, but she still won't perch! She just sits in the corner of the house in front of the nest box!!!! I tried putting more flowerpots in this corner, but she then just sits in front of them. No point lifting her on to the perch because she just goes back on the floor when I leave her. She is a stubborn Wyandotte though!!!!!
 
Well, at least she's not snuggled in the nestboxes! maybe it's time for Stage 2 Sue, ie leaving her out on her penned-off corner at night, if it's safe for her to be out in the run? I believe you usually shut the pophole at night, is that right? If so, she would be cooler outside and there's no danger of her getting cold as the weather is well above freezing ATM.
 
Hi
every one for all the info, I will give some of them a try.

many thanks Roy
 
A dog cage is the easiest and most reliable way of breaking a broody and it should be a must for anyone who keeps stock that are liable to go broody.
 
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