broody hen - Pied chicken

 Hi hello to everyone!

I have a broody hen and after much advice I just wanted to check I am doing things right.  It is not an option to raise chicks so fertilised eggs are not on the agenda - we do not have a cockerel.  I do not like the thought of putting her in a wire cage so am going with the advice I have been given.

It is only day 4 but have been told to remove her from the nest box and close the hen house so she has no access to it during the day.  The trouble is we have two other hens so they have to lay else where too and as we are out at work all day cannot ensure that Roxie the broody one does not sit on their eggs as they lay them.

Today we took her out of the nest box again and she seems a bit perkier - eating and drinking with the other two and this afteroon she ate out of my hand with the others and had some corn. 

I am hoping this is perhaps caught early and what with the change in temperature in the weather she will soon forget about wanting to hatch chicks! 

How long does this go on for?  I presume she will eventually return to normal and come out of the house when I open the pop hole in the morning - then I can assume she has got over her broody phase?  I am aware that laying takes a while to get back into the routine.

Some people have told me that removing her from the nest box and not letting her have access will only make her unhappy and not knock the broodiness on the head??  She does not seem unhappy, and at least I know that when she is with the others (ok not herself and going everywhere with the other two) but seems happy enough - she is drinking and eating and pooing ok which is the main thing.  Plus she  is not just sitting on her own in a new spot in the garden which some people said she would do if we locked her out of the hen house.

What can I do - persevere with this method and hope that soon she snaps out of it?  I know it is nature and that it is only like a dog being in season.  I hope it will be ok and she will revert back to normal to the happy little chicken that she is.

Shelley

Some hens go semi broody and will go for a few days/weeks being broody and then stopping. The real truth is the only sure fire way that I've found to stop it properly is the wire cage approach. If you don't like the idea of a cage re name it to a crate. Have you noticed how dogs don't go in dog cages anymore but dog crates? A far less emotive word. Make sure she has food and water and protection from the rain and wind and she will be just fine. You are not being cruel doing this, she is doing what comes instinctively nothing else. If you don't do this you will find yourself hooking her out of the nest box in the morning ...every morning...and finding her there later in the day. She will not lay and just 'bed block' the nest boxes. Harden you heart it's a chicken not a soppy teenager having a sulk.

Best of luck and also welcome welcome. Just re read my post and it sounds quite harsh but honestly you need to get rid of the broodiness.