Topic: Broody

[sandersj89]

A couple of my hens have decided to go broody on me and egg production is right down! Grrrr.

I have read about dunking the rear of the hens in a cold bucket of water to break the broodiness and have been giving the hens a bath twice a day for a few days now but there is no sign of them going back to egg laying. I have also stopped them getting into the hen house so they have no access to the nest boxes.

Last year one of the hens in question went broody twice and it took weeks for her to stop.

However they are still displaying the classic signs of broodiness and wanting to get into the nest boxes to sit all day. Does the cold water trick work and how long can it take. Obviously it will vary bird to bird.

Unfortunately I am not in the position to put eggs under them to hatch as their timing is awful as we have holidays booked and I don’t want to add any more work to my elderly chicken sitter whilst we are away.

Thanks

Jerry

[stuffed]

I only had to deal with a broody once, I tried putting a wrapped ice pack under her (didn't stop her) so I put her in a cat carrier.  They were indoors so the cold wasn't a problem, I just lined it with newspaper (didn't want her to get too comfy) clipped a water dish on the wire front and put food in for her.  She got bored after about 3 days at which point I put her back with the others and she was fine.  It did take a week or so more for her to start laying again though.

[teresa]

I moved two broodys from the greenhouse into a new run one went off being broody and the other remained broody due on Sun.
Now the one that went off is back being broody again.
It did not take her long to start laying but cannot remember how long.
If you can put them somewhere food and water no straw to sit and make a nest should do the trick.
I have heard some pop them in a cat basket and raised off the ground so the cold air gets underneath them suppose it  gives the bum a chill.
They do have a good feather coat to keep them warm.