[CluckyChicken]

will give the ice cube idea a try.  Interesting that it sometimes dosn't work-all chickens are VERY different!  Never tried the broody cage-what exacty is that hillfooter/Bonniebean?

CC x

[hillfooter]

will give the ice cube idea a try.  Interesting that it sometimes dosn't work-all chickens are VERY different!  Never tried the broody cage-what exacty is that hillfooter/Bonniebean?

CC x

Basically the strategy with broodies is to cool their brest areas down, hence the ice cube idea and some people say dunking the bird in cold water sometimes works.  Personally I think that's a bit severe particularly at this time of year and it usually needs several dunkings and preventing her sitting again to work.  

The idea with a broody cage is that the broody is not given ideal conditions to sit by putting her in a wire cage (or a wooden one with a slatted floor) with no nesting material.   Getting cold air to her brest area and having lots of ventillation discourages her and after a couple of days in this environment she usually will stop being broody.  People often use dog transport cages which give the hens room to move around but don't provide comfortable sitting conditions.  If you keep them in the run with the other chx  there's no problem re-introducing the broody. It's best to space the cage off the ground so air can circulate underneath and provide lots of cooling, and also some weather protection from sun and rain is required.  I also prefer wooden roosting slats on the floor rather than wire mesh which might injure their feet.  It's easy to make such a cage using weld mesh and batons as framing.
HF

[CluckyChicken]

ohh okay thanks HF    we did have a broody chicken, but didnt have a clue what to do (that was before I found this site) and just gave her eggs  I wouldnt lose my chicks for anything, but I couldn't go through waiting the 21 days again!  Thanks

CC x

[joyfull]

here is a photo of mine:-

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=58294.0

[joyfull]

here is a list of various methods:-

Here is my list of how to break a broody.

here is my list on ways to break a broody 

You cant stop them going broody but there are several ways to deal with it.
1) let them have fertile eggs,
2) keep removing the eggs so she is sitting on nothing - can take weeks,
3) keep removing her from the nest box - again can take weeks,
4) put her in a cage with food and water - can take between 1 and 7 days,
5) dunk her bum in a bucket of cold water - this lowers her body temperature - not tried this method but she may need several dunkings (just make sure she dries off though).
So far I have tried methods 1 and 4 - much prefer method 1 though 

[alisonwo]

Apparently the old fashioned remedy was to hold them by the legs and swing her around to cool the aid underneath her, sounds horrendous and would never do it, but I wonder if it worked, brings new meaning to the saying 'can't swing a cat around in here' alison

[TeaPots]

omg 

[jinty1911]

Sounds a good idea but how do you get the broody to stay on the ice pack?  Would she not just get up and settle somewhere else?
Jinty

[TeaPots]

why cant u buy egg shaped cold packs? you could freeze them, and get her to sit on them tooo   

[Sassy]

why cant u buy egg shaped cold packs? you could freeze them, and get her to sit on them tooo   

Sounds like a great idea - you should market it!

[TeaPots]

Anyone got Allan Sugars Email?   
Remember you heard it here first

[hillfooter]

When you find it let me know cos I'd like a few hundred thousand or so to develop ice cube shaped eggs for ease of storage.

Why people think Sugar is some sort of genius entrepeneur amazes me when in fact he's just a lucky chancer with a tallent as a salesman who rose from being a London barrow boy to multi-millionaire through being a ruthless bully.  He's not that smart.  He had the opportunity to be the dominant player in the pc world but turned it down because he didn't think there was any money to be made in in software.  Gates on the otherhand knew better.  He could have backed Gates but decided to stick with making cheap poor quality hardware.  What a missed opportunity that was.  Since then Amstrads machinations have hardly been stelar.

Everyone associates Sugar with Amstrad and the Apprentice TV show which pitches Sugar as some sort of lovable Del boy no nonsense technology entrepeneur but in fact he made most of his fortune from property dealing in Mayfair not technology.  Many of his much vaunted business activities initially struck lucky but have since faultered and never managed to sustain their early promise.  Most have turned into problem children rather than cash cows to use the palance of businessmen who really understand real market development.  The fact he was recruited as some sort of business advisor / guru was an ill judged attempt by Brown's government to milk his popular image to prop up their own failing public image leading up to the last election.  

Sugar is just good box office and has hardly had one incisive thing to say about business and innovation beyond his usual barrow boy bravado.  If you took any innovative idea to Sugar without his two flanking stooges to advise him he'd be unable to evaluate any business opportunity beyond the most basic level.

Having been professionally involved for many years in technology innovation and venture capital I can tell you that the popular image portrayed by TV programmes like The Apprentice and Dragons Den bare as much resemblance to real business as "Gardeners World" does to real allotment gardening or "Strictly Come Dancing" to real ballroom dancing tuition or "I'm a Celebrity get Me Out of Here" does to actual jungle survival.

It's Television as my wfe never ceases to remind me!

HF

[Ice]

OMG, I agree with Hillfooter.

Anyway, back on topic.

[tiptopchickendon]

why cant u buy egg shaped cold packs? you could freeze them, and get her to sit on them tooo   

How about putting golf balls in the frezzer, then put them under the bird?

may try it out on my Suffolk Noir, she seems to have been broody for ages now!

[TeaPots]

my girls would soon warm them up!! LOL, but if i had enough, i could do a regular switch, refreezing the warmed ones. Good idea