Chicken bald back

[ClaudetteDay]

ok, so for the few days i've been filling my mind with chicken related things. like what to feed them, what medication to give them, what to put in their dustbath etc:

 

now i'm on to broodiness

 

I recently read another post regarding the same subject, but i can't seem to find it anymore.

 

anyway, what do i do if my chicken is broody?

 

how do i snap her out of it?

 

I heard hanging her form tree and putting her in a cold bath is the best way to shock her. seems pretty harsh.

 

is it common for your chickens to become broody?

[Space Chick]

Ok the advice I got earlier was not to hang my chicken from a tree It was to hang the broody cage from a tree.

 

A broody cage is a cage which will allow air to circulate around a hen to lower her body temperature to snap her out of broodiness.

 

Some hens are more prone to broodiness than others. Hybrids tend to go broody less, however, it is down to the individual hen. Pure breeds tend to go broody more, and some breeds are very prone and harder to get out ie. silkies - hence my Susan.

 

In many cases, the broodiness can be deterred quickly. When my Peri (a Barnebar) went broody in October before the cold weather, 3 days and nights in the broody cage sorted her out. Other girls are more determined

 

If you are worried about dealing with a broody hen, then you may be better off getting hybrids, although I do know of some hybrids that have gone broody.

 

Dunking the hen's belly in cold water is another way to snap them out of it, but is not advisable in cold weather.

 

Hope this has helped.

[ClaudetteDay]

thanks a lot for the reply.

 

don't worry, i meant to hang the chicken from a tree whilst in a cage! not actually hanging her!

 

much appreciated

[Barkisland]

I sometimes think some of the measures people discuss re snapping their girls out of broodiness are verging on cruelty I certainly would never dream of dunking a bird in cold water!

My Light Sussex is a broody nightmare. She goes broody on a regular 6 week cycle throughout the summer. I tried putting her in a broody cage, it felt cruel and it didn't work anyway. So now I just leave her to it. She comes round in her own time.

She has stopped laying for winter now, having moulted and grown a fine new set of feathers.

No doubt she will immediately go broody again as soon as Spring is sprung, but that's just nature's way, as far as I am concerned, and I live with it.

[ClaudetteDay]

if a broody chicken isn't eating or drinking, sometimes you have to take drastic measures. and that includes dunking them in cold water!!

 

sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

 

but if your chicken is still eating and drinking, then fair enough. leave her to it

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Of my 3 older girls, only one has gone broody twice. The others haven't ever bothered .

[Egluntyne]

Article **here** re dealing with broody hens. From the **FAQ section**, which is full of useful info that new chicken keepers might wish to refer to.

[Chicken Shirl]

I have a hen like Barkis that is broody twice during Spring and Summer. She can sit for five weeks, that's her longest. I make sure she is comfortable and leave food and water beside her, take her off the nest to poo and dustbath every 2 days. She has never lost condition. When she sits on, and hatches eggs she is the most wonderful mum. It is natural for them to go broody...............On the other hand I understand the need to break a broody when there is not sufficient room to seperate her or when holidays are coming up.

 

It is hard enough to get someone to look after hens, let alone a broody as well.

[coco]

Coco my silkie cross was broody for six weeks, she came out of it this week. I left her to it but shut her out of the house twice a day for about half an hour each time. she was shut out all day every weekend [after everyone had laid.] I put her in a run on her own but I thnk she was starting to come out of it then anyway. Next time she goes broody I shall leave her to it.

[Valkyrie]

We tried the ice packs wrapped in tea towels - that didn't work - our buff just kicked them to the side! I even took her out every time she sneaked back in - we gave up and let her hatch some chicks instead. That worked fine except she was such a good mum, that she wouldn't eat anything - just found food for the little ones. Sadly we lost her. Then another started, but she was easily distracted by grapes being offered to the other girls (and boy) - next year I will be utilising our old rat cage for the no-nonsense route.

[Chicken Shirl]

We tried the ice packs wrapped in tea towels - that didn't work - our buff just kicked them to the side! I even took her out every time she sneaked back in - we gave up and let her hatch some chicks instead. That worked fine except she was such a good mum, that she wouldn't eat anything - just found food for the little ones. Sadly we lost her. Then another started, but she was easily distracted by grapes being offered to the other girls (and boy) - next year I will be utilising our old rat cage for the no-nonsense route.

 

Here is our Big Pingu when we found her collapsed whilst raising chicks this year, for the same reason as yours Koojie she didn't eat anything herself. Managed to save her though with great difficulty.

[Valkyrie]

Well spotted!

[coco]

My sillkie cross Pipa has just started to go broody, having just had one stop being broody but still not laying I think I'll try and nip this one in the bud. I think its going to get colder next week so maybe that will help.

[Chicken Shirl]

My sillkie cross Pipa has just started to go broody, having just had one stop being broody but still not laying I think I'll try and nip this one in the bud. I think its going to get colder next week so maybe that will help.

 

Chickens Let us know how she gets on. I'm rubbish at doing anything like dunking them in cold water. I did have a go at it once and the hen just went broody again the next week. So took the easy option and left her to it.

[meezers]

My silkie, Muppet, is broody again, for the 2nd time in what must be less than 2 months Luckily ( or unluckily, depending on how you look at it ) she was the only one laying,( she gave me eggs for 2 weeks before going broody again ) so during the day I just shut the coop door and she goes about her business like a sane , non broody chook. Come night time , when they are all queueing on the ramp to go to bed ( cos the door is closed because of Muppet - I'm sure they blame her ) she is first into the coop and practically hurls herself into the nestbox and there she stays until I turf her out and close the door in the morning, so I suppose she is a dedicated part time broody.

I really can't be bothered with a broody cage, esp as I can shut the coop door at the moment, and as she is a silkie, I expected her to be a broody nightmare.

Now, if my speckledy decides to go broody again, that will be a different story.