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

[likeastar--x]

my smallest runt like bantam, barely out of chickhood herself, just started laying eggs recently. yesterday noticed she was spending a lot of time in the nesting box, she sits there all fluffed up over the eggs. we removed the eggs but she still sits there over nothing, as we expected. she still comes out for food and nibbles though, and i thought broody chickens didnt do this?

 

 

what do i do to snap her out of it, i dont want her to get egg bound! thanks

[Valkyrie]

Ha! Join the club. My newbie to laying - well, she started on the second of Jan - started getting broody last week. What a pain. I have tried the ice cubes (wrapped in cloth) but she just shoves them out of the way. Then I tried a makeshift broody box which she refused to stay in. Now I give up. I decided against getting in eggs for her to hatch and decided to ride it out. I do take her out of the nesting box a few times in the day - then I can check whether there are any eggs under her and remove them before she cooks them! She forages around, has a bath and a drink and back to the box again! Today Sioux has started and the pair of them are in the nest box! Arghhh! That leaves poor Apache on her own and whingeing very loudly - and when she gets scared she is bokking really loudly. I gather that the general rule is 21 days - eggs underneath or not - before snapping out of it. Don't worry about her being egg bound, hormones kick in to stop them laying in the meantime.