In today's post I'm going to tell you about my broody hens, Jo Dee and Wanda, and what I'm doing to end that broodiness.
A hen is broody when she sits on eggs without leaving OR she sits on an empty nest without leaving. She won't eat or drink and can become aggressive if you try to approach her. If you have a rooster and want to hatch baby chicks, a broody hen is great! She will incubate the eggs with her body heat and then protect the babies. But without a rooster, those eggs will never hatch. I don't have a rooster, so my hens will be sitting there for nothing. It might seem harmless to let them brood anyways, but as I said, they won't eat or drink. They can also overheat because their body temp rises so much, which is dangerous in the hot summer weather. Normally when a hen is hot she will drink water to cool down, sit in some shade, or have a dust bath. A broody hen will do none of those. A broody period typically lasts 3 weeks, which is a long time for a hen to go without eating or drinking! I've read that a broody hen will leave her nest once a day to eat, drink, and poop, but mine never left on their own.
We have dealt with some broody buddies over the years but it never lasts long. Here are the things we do to break the broodiness. These are methods we have implemented because they work for us. There is no particular order, but I'll tell you at the end what seems to be most effective for us.
MAKE THEIR NESTING SPOT FEEL UNSAFE.
She will have chosen that spot because she thinks its safe, whether that is a nesting box or hidden area. Make her think it is not safe by making some noise, gently poking her (if she is a "biter" maybe wear a glove!), or even letting other animals sniff her. My dog is gentle but loves to get a big deep sniff , so we will let her in the coop to bug the chicken.
REMOVE HER FROM THE NEST.
Pick her up and take her off the nest. If she goes right back, do it again. Ideally, put her out with the other chickens or near some food. If she has been nesting on the ground or in a hidden spot, make it inaccessible. I'd advise against blocking off the actual nesting boxes because your other chickens will need to actually lay an egg there.
COOL HER DOWN.
If her body temperature returns to normal she is less likely to stay broody. One way you can do this is to put an ice pack under her body. Wrap it in a thin cloth so it doesn't touch her bare skin (broody hens often pull out their breast feathers to expose bare skin). This works well but if you have multiple nesting boxes, she might just move to a different one. We have been using a spray bottle of ice water to spray her body when she is in the nest. This helps cool her down but also makes her feel unsafe in the nest. Another option for cooling is to dunk her in water. You can start by firmly holding her feet in a shallow container. Chickens will naturally stand in water to cool down, so this should be fairly easy to do. Hold her in there for as long as she tolerates it.
If this does not work, you can use a bigger container to submerge her body, NOT head, in cold water. She might hate this and struggle, but keep a firm grip. You want the water to penetrate the feathers and get to her skin to cool her down. In addition to cooling, she will likely be so busy preening and trying to dry herself , so she will not immediately run to the nest.
DISTRACTION.
Once I've removed a chicken from the nest spot I'll do something that gives them a distraction. It's as simple as refilling the outdoor food container or tossing a handful of seeds into their enclosure. Sometimes I'll give them all a special treat, like some fruit or a piece of bread. We have a big log pile that the chickens use for climbing and perching, and they love when we move the logs to expose the insects underneath. This offers a great distraction for the broody hen! I have a soaker garden hose in their enclosure so sometimes I'll turn that on for everyone to enjoy. These things always hold the attention of Jo Dee and Wanda, and our past broody hens.
REMOVE ALL EGGS ASAP.
Jo Dee would move into any nest that had eggs in it but Wanda doesn't care to sit on them. Removing eggs will help break the broodiness because the eggs absorb the warmth from the hen's body. If there is nothing staying warm she is more likely to leave.
Overall, consistency is key! It can be hard to do if you work outside the home or get busy with other tasks, but the best way to break broodiness is to be consistent. Does that mean you need to set a schedule or a timer to remind yourself? Maybe! The more frequently you implement these, or other strategies, the faster the broodiness will end. In an ideal world, I check my chickens every hour. Realistically, that doesn't always happen. I know it can be discouraging to have a stubborn and broody hen. Jo Dee was broody for 9 days. Wanda is nearing that length and is very stubborn. It can be even more disheartening to have a normally sweet hen become aggressive. But that is her natural instinct; to protect her babies (real or imaginary). I'd suggest trying to break a broody hen for her own wellbeing. She could die from heat, starvation, or dehydration if left alone. Broodiness can also spread, in a sense, to the other hens. You may end up with a flock full of broody buddies, who are not laying any eggs!
It's important to notice broodiness early, and be consistent in efforts to break it. I've had chickens since 2016, and have never lost one to broodiness.
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