4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[jills]

Another broody question, so many at the moment. My Pepperpot, Nessa, has been broody for about 10 days. Having tried dunking her in water, locking out of the nestbox and so on, I finally got an anti broody cage yesterday. She is so miserable in there and it is really upsetting me, plus my other hen, Thurza the gingernut, is also confused and miserable, pacing round the broody cage and not acting normally at all. I actually don't care about getting no eggs for a while, but had read that broody hens can starve themselves and also pass the broodiness on to others, so thought the kindest thing to do was to try to snap her out of it. I wanted to keep chickens in the kindest way possible, and they are used to freeranging. Locking one in a cage doesn't seem very kind! Nessa is so young as well, arrived 14th April aged about 20 weeks, first egg 29th April, broodiness started 23rd May.

So, anyone with experience of this, which is kindest do you think, leave her in the broody cage for a few days and hope she snaps out of it, or let her out and let her get on with it?

 

One very confused and upset new chicken owner.

[beach chick]

I'm in the same situation so I do sympathise... have used the broody cage before and it's always worked within 2 days. this time round, Char is resolute and Paris wandering about like a lost soul. I tried dunking last summer but it didnt work, and I cant face it in this weather.

today I let Char out of the coop I hoped she'd nest in (and then I'd have got some eggs to put under her) but she went and scoffed her grub and straight back into the eglu.

so I've put her back in the cage now, propped up higher than before, and I guess I'll leave her there til Weds lunchtime if I've got the strength. I need to put some plastic over the top tho, coz its raining here (or is that being too soft? but then she'll spend all night all wet and that cant be good).

it's a worry isnt it?!

[Tweety]

I have the same problem too. Both of my Wyandottes are broody, for the second time this spring, and I have decided to let them get on with it. I bought a dog cage, but couldn't bear to see them in it so have tried a variety of alternatives but all to no avail. So I made several nesting boxes for my other girls, who couldn't get into the Eglu nesting box whilst the broodies were there, and I now take the broodies out in the morning and shut the Eglu door for the whole day.They do occasionally join in with the others, and eat and drink with them too, until they remember that they are broody and go and sit outside the Eglu! The other girls are fine laying in my homemade nesting boxes, so I will just carry on with this arrangement until the broodies snap out of it - although I am not holding my breath waiting for that to happen!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[The Dogmother]

Dunking has never worked for my girls either, but 3 days in the broody cage works wonders. I've never heard of hens passing broodiness on to others, in fact some of mine seem immune to it, whereas others are always broody.

[Tessa the Duchess]

Think of it as being cruel to be kind A broody hen can really upset the balance of a small flock and also she may lose weight and condition due to not eating and drinking, not dust bathing or getting exercise. At the risk of repeating myself one of my chickens was broody for 10 weeks because I just let her get on with it, I will never do it again, and I have a homemade broody cage ready for the first signs. It is a hard thing to do, but I think it is the right thing to do.

 

Tessa

[Egluntyne]

It is the best way.

 

They lose condition quickly when broody, and so even if they so snap out of it in a few weeks, you are unlikely to get eggs immediately as they are in a poor state.

 

Grit your teeth and persevere.

[HENthusiastic]

Hi.

Im no expert, Henrietta was broody for about five weeks. I think I didn't recognise the signs early so maybe I made it harder to snap her out of it. But I tried, dunking, broody cage and locking her out of the nest box when ever possible (evenings and weekends mostly). (I didn't perseviere with the broody cage though). Nothing stopped her and in the end I gave up and just tried to make sure she ate as much as possible. I made her treats up with poultry spice in them, I also continued to kick her off the nest when I could. She did loose a lot of weight, but she came out of it on her own. Good luck, what ever you decide to do.

[esta]

Hi there, my chickens have recently been broody. What I did with Mavis is I picked her out the nest box and put her on the floor, and then I would go back and half an hour later I would check on her, and if she was on the eggs I would pick her off again. Nessa will soon realise that she can't stay on the eggs! Hope I helped, good luck!

 

Esta

[jills]

Thanks for all the replies. Seems you just have to try whatever you can bear to do. Well I gave in at 3.00pm and let Nessa out of her sin bin. Since then she has been scratching around the garden with Thurza, dust bathing and generally having a wonderful time. She's made no attempt to go near the eglu but I'm keeping a close eye on her just in case. Up until now they've both always slept in the nest box, but I think I'll try to keep her out of it tonight in case she regresses.

[Egluntyne]

Maybe the broody cage has worked it's magic.

[beach chick]

3 days??? egluntine, was it you who said that? right, I will hold my resolve until Thurs lunchtime then. I have put a black binliner over the top, weighted down with 2 bricks, to keep the worst of the rain off her. fingers crossed!

[The Dogmother]

Leave her in theer for 3 days, 24/7. Then let her out at the start if the day so that she doesn't go getting all warm and snuggly in the nest again. I put my broody cage in the run so that it's under the waterproof cover and she can be amongst the other girls. I've got used to doing it now and don't hate it nearly so much.

[beach chick]

thanks claret, my resolve is stiffened now!!! I actually feel sorrier for Paris, who cant work out why she's all alone, while Char is all hormonal and sulky...

[beach chick]

well, here's a bit of an update: got back about 11ish this morning after school run, dog walking, vet visit etc. Char was standing up, stomping about and looking really lively, so I thought we'd cracked it. let her out and she went and stuffed her face and then went into the eglu. I got busy with the new babies, and realised she'd been in there an hour - went to lift her and she'd laid a bloomin' egg!!! so she's been broody for about 2 weeks, no eggs, still broody then an egg... and now she's still in there - what do I do now? turf her back into the broody cage??

[The Dogmother]

Are you sure it was her egg and not someone else's. One of mine was broody a few weeks ago, laid an egg in the broody cage so I let her out... she went straight back to brooding, so back into the cage for that young lady

[beach chick]

no, it was def. hers because I took Paris's out this morning...

she's still in there now!!

[The Dogmother]

Best bung her in the broody cage again. I find that 3 days at 34/7 work well.

[beach chick]

I've chucked her back in... she's not happy but I really need her to snap out of it!! Paris, meanwhile is making friends with the babies, sitting next to their new eglu and bokboking

[The Dogmother]

Aww, bless paris. What a sweetie.

 

She'll feel happier whe she's not broody, they get so grumpy. My Lavinia is happy enough in the broody cage, chatting with her mates... all she needs is a plasma TV and some knitting

[beach chick]

oh Char's in a big sulk!!

thanks for your help Claret.

[The Dogmother]

You're most welcome

[mayflower]

I've never seen a broody cage, so can't picture it. Also, although one of my hens did appear to be broody she is OK at present. I did read somewhere, that a person who had a smallholding and lots of hens, had an outside lu where she put the broody hen for 24 hours.

[beach chick]

hi mayflower, I use a dog crate, so its just wire, customised with some extra wire and a non-spillable plastic water thing (old biscuit tub wired into the corner) then I prop the whole thing up on bricks to let the air circulate underneath and weight the whole thing down with 2 bricks on top....