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[Picasso08]

Hi everyone this Is my first post I have been browsing for ages and have found it very useful. I have two lovely hens Matila and Dorothey, my 5yr old named them and she adores them both helping with feeding and even cleaning them out and pooper scooping! We have had the girls for 7wks now and they have been laying everyday our first egg was a double yolker which was fantastic! for the last 3wks matilda has been broody, she sat on her eggs for 1st wk

and has stopped laying for 2wks now, my daughter picks her up off the egg in the morning and we let her free range when we are here if not we shut her out of the house, we have been putting her in cold water which she hates and makes a terrible fuss, she goes around the garden making strange noises and flaps she can also fly quite high! it is funny to watch.Is the anything else we can do? I do feel sorry for Dorothey having to live with her.

[muzzboy]

Keep up with removing her from the eggs and she will soon give up the broodyness

[gongladosh]

You might want to have a look into this - it's about broody cages:

http://lifeonplanetchicken.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/brooding-chicken/

 

Usually 3 full days and 3 full nights should be enough...

[ashjc]

Picasso.. I have used a broody cage recently... well it was a dog cage from Pets at home with two clip on food bowls. I bought some mesh for the floor and removed the plastic tray..

 

I put the dog crate inside my cube run so she was under cover but put her up on four house bricks. 3 days and 3 nights and bingo she was cured... stopped being broody and started laying about 4 days after I let her out.

 

Its not good to look at through the kitchen window but at least she was in with my other hen in the run and she was eating and drinking throughout which she wouldnt have done if she was stuck on the nest