Mum Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 None of mine are broody yet - not even laying! - but I have been reading up on using a dog crate. But, some people have small, some have medium and some have large? Which size should I go for? Any particular recommendations? I'm on a tight budget, but, as some sales are now on, it seems the right time to be planning ahead. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I got a small dog crate off ebay. It was about £20.00. Only used it once though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I got a small dog crate off ebay. It was about £20.00. Only used it once though. Ditto (but I have used it 3 times!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Ditto ... I have used mine more times than I care to remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 So, that's 3 votes for a small size. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubababe Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Why do you put broody chooks in a dog crate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennym Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Why do you put broody chooks in a dog crate? You can raise the dog crate on bricks to allow air flow underneath it - that cools the underside of the hen and snaps them out of the broodiness, usually in 3 days or so. If you leave them to it, they'll spend 3 or 4 weeks hardly moving and trying to hatch anything they can sit on (eggs, empty nest box, patch of ground, flower pot, whatever...) and in the meantime will not take care of themselves - hardly eating, drinking, grooming, or dust bathing. It might sound cruel but the truth is when they're broody they don't actually move anyway (just try moving a broody hen to see what I mean!), so it's best to end it in a few days rather than 3 weeks! So long as they have food & water they'll be fine, and back to normal soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubababe Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Ahhhhhh. So that will stop me having to keep evicting my lady from the coop when she's broody.....and getting a mouthful of abuse at the same time Makes sense. Maybe I won't put my puppy crate on EBay after all Ooooooooo that will be soo much easier. Thank you for the crystal clear explanation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennym Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 You're welcome I had to read up on it after my Miss Pepperpot went full-on broody last summer. "Ooops, word censored!"ody told her she's a hybrid and isn't supposed to want babies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I use a small, wire pet carrier from freecycle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmbreeze Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 as always check out ebay - but dont forget ads in your local paper - ours have dogs cages / carriers almost every week usually you can negotiate the price too and as local can usually pick up!. we got an extra large cage for a mere snip which is handy to put in our run (which is large!) when introducing new hens also hopefully will be good when we have some chicks in the spring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks for the link Dogmother, I had read that and it was/is inspirational. Good point about Ebay/local ads I'll get on to that. So, small it is then (unless I can get a large at a snip to put in the WIR ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Great thread!! This is probably REALLY dim question (mine usually are ) but do you leave the broody in the crate 24/7 or just during the day time (putting her in the coop at night?) Sorry - told you it was a dim question ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 24/7 Bramble otherwise they will get warm again at night - the objective being to get them to cool back down. Do make sure that the crate is small enough to fit in the run with the other birds, that will make the eventual re-integration easier. That wee pekin you see in my blog post is an indefatigable broody but an excellent mum, if left to brood she'd happily starve herself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thank you DM , that's kind of what I figured (did warn you it was a dim question ) ... I've only got hybrids, one of whom toyed with the idea of going broody last year, but I seemed to be able to snap her out of it by kicking her out of the nest box, the dog crate would be a better idea though ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 If you catch them early, turfing out of the nest box can work, but some birds can be very persistent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I would have started turfing her out a LOT sooner if I'd realised she was going broody (I thought she was ill, so left her in peace and quiet for the best part of a day, debating whether to go to the vet, before the penny dropped ) In my defence, she was the first chook I'd had that had done the whole broody thing so it took a while for me to work out what she was doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Don't worry, it takes a while to cotton onto what they are doing. When you turf her off, let her flap down or toss her up to get her to flap; this will get the air under her wings and help with the cooling process. try to keep her off corn too as this generates a lot of heat as they digest it. My grandad had a slatted wooden broody box that he hung from a shady tree in his orchard with the hen inside it, I wish I had a photo of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 .... My grandad had a slatted wooden broody box that he hung from a shady tree in his orchard with the hen inside it, I wish I had a photo of it. Now THAT is a brilliant idea!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
