When hen wants to sit on the eggs and have chicks (how do you call this, so I can google more?) and you don˛t want her to, how to prevent it? We put her under the bucket without food and water for a couple of days, but I am sure there are better ways of doing this.
Hens
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We call it "broodiness" or "going broody" or "a brood hen"
Some breeds, bloodlines and hens are just more prone to it.
We just frequently collect the eggs so they don't start in the first place :shrug:
Some breeds, bloodlines and hens are just more prone to it.
We just frequently collect the eggs so they don't start in the first place :shrug:
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Some hens will sit on a nest even with no eggs in it, but collecting the eggs regularly usually works, as Dood said.
Being in a dark place probably made her even more determined to hatch out eggs!
You are better off putting her in a very bright place. Remove all sources of nest building material so she has nothing to make a nest with or "set" comfortably. A hanging wire cage would be ideal. If you put a rooster in with her, he may harass her enough to break the cycle.
She should have water and food available to her.
Nika":ntafz5l9 said:
Being in a dark place probably made her even more determined to hatch out eggs!
You are better off putting her in a very bright place. Remove all sources of nest building material so she has nothing to make a nest with or "set" comfortably. A hanging wire cage would be ideal. If you put a rooster in with her, he may harass her enough to break the cycle.
She should have water and food available to her.
At some point we're going to want a broody hen instead of always buying day old chicks. Are there ways to encourage broodiness, times of year when hens would more naturally be broody?
I think the "no food and water" is a common recommendation, I have heard it multiple times in the past (maybe an "old wive's tale" passed down from generation to generation?)
I have some hens more prone to boodiness than others. I have one that is bound and determined to hatch - if I find a nest and clear it out, she just goes somewhere else (she won't come back to it once the eggs are gone). She hatched 3 batches out last year, one of which was 17 chicks!! She's also my houdini that can figure her way out of the run when no others can so I just let her be, nesting in the cedar where she's content. I get a few chicks each year and call it good.
To encourage broodiness I guess just leave a nest full of eggs - either real or ceramic. I had 5 sitting at the same time at one point last year - some broke their cycle after nothing hatched for a few weeks (they kept switching nest boxes so most of the eggs were duds... only one chick hatched). Others, I finally admitted defeat and scrounged up a few random chicks (the last of the ones at Southern States last year) and let them raise them up. I would keep her in her own cage (with food and water) and no nest. If she's broody she shouldn't be laying so she won't need one. <br /><br /> __________ Fri Feb 26, 2016 3:25 pm __________ <br /><br />
I highly recommend a broody raising up her own (or purchase) chicks... SO much easier than dealing with a brooder box, plus if they can get out on dirt at just a day or two old they are supposed to be less prone to cocci (natural immunity from early exposure, supposedly).
I have some hens more prone to boodiness than others. I have one that is bound and determined to hatch - if I find a nest and clear it out, she just goes somewhere else (she won't come back to it once the eggs are gone). She hatched 3 batches out last year, one of which was 17 chicks!! She's also my houdini that can figure her way out of the run when no others can so I just let her be, nesting in the cedar where she's content. I get a few chicks each year and call it good.
To encourage broodiness I guess just leave a nest full of eggs - either real or ceramic. I had 5 sitting at the same time at one point last year - some broke their cycle after nothing hatched for a few weeks (they kept switching nest boxes so most of the eggs were duds... only one chick hatched). Others, I finally admitted defeat and scrounged up a few random chicks (the last of the ones at Southern States last year) and let them raise them up. I would keep her in her own cage (with food and water) and no nest. If she's broody she shouldn't be laying so she won't need one. <br /><br /> __________ Fri Feb 26, 2016 3:25 pm __________ <br /><br />
Rainey":1evsmo19 said:
I highly recommend a broody raising up her own (or purchase) chicks... SO much easier than dealing with a brooder box, plus if they can get out on dirt at just a day or two old they are supposed to be less prone to cocci (natural immunity from early exposure, supposedly).
I think the proper term for discouraging a broody hen is to "break her up".
I agree that collecting the eggs at least once a day will eventually either discourage her, or the cycle will run it's course and she'll eventually forget about it. (Until next time.)
I had an Old English Game bantam that was notorious for hiding her nests. Out of the blue, I'd see her leading a brood of fuzzy, day-old chicks around the run. Then I'd dig around, and find a pile of empty shells under the feeder, the waterer, or in a dark corner.
I eventually ended up with so many... More than I cared to butcher. They all went to the neighbor of a co-worker who was having a big cook out.
Then I switched to rabbits.
I miss the chickens and will probably get a few hens again this spring... But no more roosters!
That ought to take care of it. :lol:
I agree that collecting the eggs at least once a day will eventually either discourage her, or the cycle will run it's course and she'll eventually forget about it. (Until next time.)
I had an Old English Game bantam that was notorious for hiding her nests. Out of the blue, I'd see her leading a brood of fuzzy, day-old chicks around the run. Then I'd dig around, and find a pile of empty shells under the feeder, the waterer, or in a dark corner.
I eventually ended up with so many... More than I cared to butcher. They all went to the neighbor of a co-worker who was having a big cook out.
Then I switched to rabbits.
I miss the chickens and will probably get a few hens again this spring... But no more roosters!
That ought to take care of it. :lol:
I had a hen go broody in late fall and I didn't want her hatching chicks that late in the season so I just kept taking eggs out from under her. After two weeks of that I gave up, marked the eggs she had and let her get to it. She hatched three chicks out on Nov. 30, one was smaller and only lasted two weeks, not sure what happened to it but it just disappeared, likely killed and eaten by the other birds. The other two did really well and are taking their place in the flock now. I think the mild winter had a lot to do with them doing well. Broodies can be pretty stubborn.
