So you either don’t want any more chickens or you have a broody hen but no rooster in your flock. What next? Can you ‘break a broody’?.
Identify whether she is being broody or simply taking a long time to lay her egg. A broody hen is a chicken with the innate desire to lay a clutch of eggs, sit on them, and incubate them (assuming the eggs are fertile thanks to the proper actions of a rooster), with the goal of eventually raising the chicks to adulthood. Although a broody sitting on unfertilized eggs is unaware that her eggs won’t hatch, this doesn’t lessen her dedication to the task at hand.
If you reach into a broody’s nest box, she will typically puff up. She might even peck at you. To line the nest, she will begin bringing pieces of straw and feathers. In order to keep her eggs warm, she will even remove her own feathers from her breast. When you bring her out for treats, she will return immediately to her nest. When other hens approach her nest box, she might peck them.
A hen will remain broody for about 21 days if left alone, which is how long it takes for a clutch of fertile eggs to hatch. The behavior should stop after 21 days, but occasionally a hen will remain broody, in which case it’s crucial to “break” or stop the hen before she harms herself.
Because a stubborn chicken could starve herself, broodiness is more of a problem for chickens without fertile eggs to hatch. She must be broken if her eggs are unfertilized or sitting on “invisible” eggs.
This prolonged period of brooding drains the hen physically and emotionally, and she will sit until something hatches, which is clearly not going to happen.
Because they spend the entire day in the nest, where these infestations are common, broody hens are also susceptible to contracting mite and lice. They aren’t outside scratching and pecking, away from bedding materials where parasites like to hide, or taking a dust bath. As a broody hen will simply sit and suffer in her nest, a simple preventable or treatable issue like mites and lice can become fatal at this point.
2. If the first step doesn’t work, close the box or block the door to get her out. This next step might work if you have repeatedly removed the broody hen from the nest box but she is still hogging it. You’re going to limit her access instead of removing her from the nest box. Hopefully, your hen will return to normal once she can’t access the nest. However, if that doesn’t happen, don’t give up. There are other methods to try.
3. Fill an empty bottle with water to make a frozen water bottle. Leave it in the freezer for 24 hours. Slide the water bottle under your broody hen while she is perched on the box. You can also use an ice pack, but make sure it can withstand your hen pecking it. If your hen’s belly is without feathers, don’t be alarmed. For the eggs, broody hens remove their stomach feathers.
4. One of the following techniques is to give your broody lady a cold water bath. Set her into the bathtub or sink after adding a few inches of cold water. When she sits, you only require enough water to cover her chest. According to the theory, it modifies her hormones and lowers her broody body temperature. Make sure she is free of any poop that has become stuck to her vent by cleaning it now. Dry her off with a towel and give her a short walk around the yard. Only bathe your chicken in cold water when the weather is warm and sunny, please!
5. Remove all nesting materials because a broody hen needs a cozy, warm nest to lay her eggs in. She’s probably been working on it without you noticing. She’s been using those chest feathers that we discussed her plucking out to soften up her nest. You want to make the environment uncomfortable to help her lose her broodiness. Go to the chicken coop and strip the nest bare. Remove any bedding and all those feathers. The theory is that your broody hen will avoid the nest if it is uncomfortable to sit on it.
6. Setting up solitary confinement or a “chicken jail” for a broody hen is the last resort when trying to break her. A wire cage similar to a dog crate is what most chicken owners use. It must accommodate your hen and provide room for food and water. The purpose of chicken jail is to keep your broody as bored and uncomfortable as possible; there are no nesting spaces and no warm, cozy corners to hide in. Don’t give her bedding. If possible, suspend the cage from the ceiling. It is intended to permit a draft under their bodies to reduce gloominess. The breaking down of a hen by confinement can take one day or several days.
Let your broody out in the morning and watch how she behaves. If she immediately runs to the egg box, she is sent back to chicken prison. Success if she starts interacting with the chickens and scratching the ground.
Instead of fussing with the other methods, many people choose to send their chickens straight to “chicken jail.”
Occasionally, giving your broody hen what she wants—a clutch of eggs to sit on—is the most compassionate thing to do.
In 21 days, you’ll have baby chicks in your flock. Additionally, this approach is very clever and compassionate, especially if one of your chickens has stopped laying eggs or has seen a decline in egg production. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!.
Put A Frozen Water Bottle In The Nest
Your hen’s body temperature rises due to an increase in hormones, turning her into a living, breathing incubator. Her natural instinct is to search for a nest box. Good thing you can stop her brooding by simply lowering her temperature. How do you lower temp? With a frozen water bottle.
Take an empty bottle and fill it with water. Leave it in the freezer for 24 hours. Slide the water bottle under your broody hen while she is perched on the box. Another option is to use an ice pack, but make sure it can withstand your hen pecking it!
Don’t be alarmed if her belly doesn’t have any feathers. Broody hens pluck their stomach plumage in preparation for the eggs. It’s a completely normal broody behavior (1).
Later, we’ll go into greater detail regarding what your hen did with those feathers. For the time being, it’s crucial to understand that cooling down that bare patch can assist in reducing your chicken’s broodiness. However, don’t try this technique in winter. You don’t want to over chill your hen!.
Our Choice for All-In-One Automatic Chicken Coop Door
Bring out the ‘Broody Buster’
If your hen is still broody at this point, there is only one thing left to do: put her in a broody cage. It’s less dramatic than it sounds….
You will require a cage with a wire bottom for this. Use a dog or cat carrier, remove the bottom, and cover the opening with chicken wire. Bedding should not be present in the cage; only food and water should be there.
Put the hen in the cage for about 3 days (if she lays an egg before this, let her out as she is no longer broody), then raise the base of the cage with blocks or pieces of wood.
Additionally, be sure to keep the cage in an area with plenty of natural light.
After three days, release the hen and observe her to determine whether she returns to the nesting box or interacts with the rest of the flock. If she socializes well done, you’ve broken her broodiness. If not, keep her in the cage for an additional three days.
We have never used this method, though. Although we prefer not to put our hens in cages, it is a matter of personal preference.
A hen cannot be forced to become pregnant, and it is difficult to predict exactly when one will go broody.
It’s a combination of their hormones, instinct, and maturity. One thing to keep in mind is that during a young hen’s first laying season, you almost certainly won’t see her go broody.
Despite all of this, your hens are most likely to become broody in the spring because they require warm weather to raise chicks. It is extremely uncommon for hens to become broody in the icy winter months.
Another crucial point is that some breeds are much more likely than others to become brooding than others.
Many hens don’t become pregnant, and hybrid hens are a prime example of this. They rarely become pregnant because this instinct has been bred out of them.
Other breeds, like Cochins, Buff Orpingtons, and Silkies, can become pregnant more than once a year.
As you can imagine, hens who don’t often go broody can change their mind halfway through and will leave the nest- clearly, if you want chicks, this isn’t ideal, so bear this in mind when selecting the breed of chicken you’d like.