HENthusiastic Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 HIya. Henrietta Hen has been broody for 3weeks now. She doesnot show any sign of it lessening. Despite the fact that at weekends we have managed to keep her off the nest ALL day and she has had loads of days sitting on ice packs. I turf her off the nest for 2 hours each morning and then most evenings. I thought it was supposed to be stopping by now. Is it too late to try a broody cage or should I just sit it out. Just worried coz she feels so thin. She looks in good condition though. Still shiny, sleek feathers. Thanks for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Here is the reply I posted in the other thread on the subject. Can you beg steal or borrow a wire dog crate and put it up on bricks so that the cooling breeezes waft underneath. Put food and drink in it and nothing else. It should take 3 days to snap her out of it. You might want to move it into a shed at night ....for fear of predators. Give it a try. It is supposed to be the quickest way, as you are depriving the hen of dark, somewhere comfortable to sit, and warmth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 I'm only 3 days into this broody lark . I'm thinking of trying the broody cage if I can adapt a rabbit run. Egluntine, can you not put the hen into the eglu at night and keep the cage for daytime? If not, I'll have to try and find a dog cage - the rabbit run won't be very portable for moving at night . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Egluntine, can you not put the hen into the eglu at night and keep the cage for daytime? If not, I'll have to try and find a dog cage - the rabbit run won't be very portable for moving at night . I suppose if all else fails....but then they will be able to snuggle up and get warm and cosy with the others and it would interfere with the cooling action of the cage. Sometimes you just have to make the best use of what you have got though. Has one of your "doggy" friends got a crate you could borrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Hopefully, yes, I'll do a bit of phoning round this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 When I have used the cage (large dog cage) method, they would be kept in it all the time and only return the to the eglu once they had snapped out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HENthusiastic Posted May 9, 2008 Author Share Posted May 9, 2008 SO it doesn't matter that Ive let it go on for this long then? Its still possible to snap her out of it with a broody cage? So she really stays in a metal cage day and night? Won't she get too cold overnight? Or is that the point? The cage could go into the walk in coop to keep her safe from foxes I suppose. The cage needs to be mesh underneath to keep her underneath cool, but what about the sides, can they be more solid to protect her a bit from the weather? Won't she be terribly distressed being made to sleep separate from her mates and without the security of four solid walls? Or am i just being soft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 No it does not matter that she has been broody for so long. You still could try the cage. Hopefully being away from her chums will help to snap her out of it as well. When Daisy is in the cage the cage is in the run with the others. Do make sure that she has a little shade in this weather so that she can get out of the sun if she wants. The weather is warm at the mo and I would have no worries about my girls spending the night outside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 I'm only 3 days into this broody lark . I'm thinking of trying the broody cage if I can adapt a rabbit run. Egluntine, can you not put the hen into the eglu at night and keep the cage for daytime? If not, I'll have to try and find a dog cage - the rabbit run won't be very portable for moving at night . Which of you girls is broody? Do all hens go broody at some time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 It's only Molly at the moment. Hope the others don't follow suit . There seem to be a lot of posts about broody hens at the moment - must be the time of year for it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Which breed is she? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 She's a Pied Suffolk (she's on the left in the picture) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 She looks so cute in there with her friend. Are you tempted to put some fertile eggs under her and order a new eglu/cube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 I dunked Daisy twice this week in one day and it worked I will use this method from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HENthusiastic Posted May 10, 2008 Author Share Posted May 10, 2008 Paola: do you mean you dunked her twice in one day and it worked? Or that you did it twice a day for a week? Ive just finished building a broody cage. I'm going to put it on a new thread and see if people think its okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 I had the very same problem my hen was broody for over a month so in the end I got out my large dog cage. 3 days later she was over it but still isn't laying yet which is about 3 weeks. She hasn't laid an egg since about 10th March! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 Paola: do you mean you dunked her twice in one day and it worked? Or that you did it twice a day for a week? Ive just finished building a broody cage. I'm going to put it on a new thread and see if people think its okay. Sorry, not very clear Just twice in one day, that was it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HENthusiastic Posted May 10, 2008 Author Share Posted May 10, 2008 wow thats quick work. I'm tempted to try that today then, before I subject her (and me) to the broody cage. I'm really dreading seeing her in the cage. Shes getting thin though so I want to get her out of it for her own good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 I thought Molly had snapped out of it but no . Found her crouching on an egg she had laid in a flowerbed - no idea when the egg was laid, we haven't seen one in the nestbox for 3 days . We'll just keep shooing her away from her home-made nests and dunking her in a bucket . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 We'd shut the eglu door once the other two had laid, but late this afternoon we found a Molly egg in a little nest in the run . She's only missed one day laying in a week so does that mean she's getting over the broodiness? Or is she going for the 8-10 eggs thinking she's going to get to sit on them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 I did not think chooks laid eggs when they are broody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 I thought they stopped laying when broody as well. Mine are all still laying, but some of them seem to be having a half hearted attempt at brooding. I keep catching them fighting over who is going to hog the nest, even though they have laid. Once I've removed the eggs they seem to snap out of it until the next day. Poor Ruby is fed up of being sat on while she lays, she keeps laying in the run instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 One of mine went broody last year and she did stop laying, and for a few weeks after the broody phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HENthusiastic Posted May 11, 2008 Author Share Posted May 11, 2008 Henrietta has totally stopped laying eggs since she went broody about 3 weeks ago. I thought they always did. Well, yesterday I dunked her twice and then put her in the broody cage just before going out for the evening. I felt really really mean. Got home at midnight and went to check her...... She had managedto break out! Incredibly she had pushed one of the struts free overhead. It was NAILED into place! She was back in the house trying to hatch her invisible eggs! This chicken must have superhuman strength. At first I thought a neighbour must have heard her in distress and not realising how to open the cage, had just pulled the slat off to let her out. But Ive checked and "Ooops, word censored!"ody heard anything or did anything. Ive decided to surrender. If she is that insistent then let her get on with it. I shall just do what I can. I'll push her off the nest when I'm about and try to get her to eat as much as possible. Been trying weetabix with honey and poultry spice on it. Anyideas how long this could go on for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Just watch the salt content when using human cereals - I wouldn't be inclined to give them regularly - what about pelet porridge? Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
