Chicken bald back

[emmalou]

I have a broody hen or at least I think so, although someone has suggested that hens tend to spend more time in their nests in Winter, is this true? I am sure she is broody and I am turfing her out of her nest as much as possible. Do hens become less broody in Winter also?

[Beantree]

Ours spend no time in the nest box at all Emmalou, because none are laying. But we do have one broody at the moment and to keep her out we put plant pots in the nest boxes. This won't work if any of the other hens in the flock are laying of course, so you would have to keep lifting her out.

 

Peak broody period is Spring, but they can go broody at any time. However they won't when it is really cold as they know they won't be able to keep a clutch up to temperature. So this is the basis for the technique to break a broody using a cage set off the floor with good air circulation underneath. They can't get their underside up to the required temperature and in a few days abandon the idea of hatching phantom eggs.

[emmalou]

Ok thank you for that. Funny thing is I can lift her out and she is OK for a few hours, then last night went back in, so turfed her out again and then went to bed but slept on the roosting floor all night. I do shut of the nest boxes at night but have to open them up in the morning for them early as they lay early. She is a real character to try and figure out. Also, we have a dog cage but how does this work in the wet and cold as whilst it is not supposed to be comfy surely being outside in the cold with maybe a bit of tarpaulin over the cage is not great. This morning she was sat on two eggs as they all use the same nest box but this afterrnoon she was just sat in there. THIS is when I don't know if she is trying to lay or if it is broodiness.

[chooksRCute]

Hi Emma

She does sound broody..I have one that attacks & one too timid to try when broody.

 

The idea is to lift the cage off the ground (use some bricks or 2 lengths of wood), & cover the top. This keeps them out the wet but allows their body to cool down. I put water & food in one corner & wait. It's the cold that breaks the cycle but be wary of caving in too soon, I think 3-5 days is recommended. Otherwise they're still full of mothering hormones & will start sitting the nest again.

They can be very STUBBORN

[emmalou]

She is now in her cage. She came out and watched me build it She was then in and out of her nest and then a minutes wander around the garden then back in the nest again, so she is in now for a few days or as long as I can hold out before I go soft on her. Thanks all. Strange how it is just her showing signs of broodiness all the time!

[Hippie Chick]

My Araucana goes broody every few weeks. The cold weather doesn't stop her broodiness at all, she must be the most hormonal chicken on earth.

 

The daft thing is that she's not all that committed to being broody, or so it seems. If I turf her out of the nest then she'll cheerfully spend hours free ranging and only returns to the nest box at night or if another chicken goes to lay an egg. But the next morning she'll be all fluffed up and sitting on any eggs that have been laid. She's not aggressive in the slightest so she's pretty cute when she's broody and doesn't object to being carried around and she's a lot easier to catch! Like yours she makes a different noise when she's broody but otherwise she makes 'peeping' noises like a chick.

 

And like yours she's taken an abnormal interest in her cage. When they're all trooping off to bed I pick her up and move her away, she then realises what's going on and heads to her cage and hops in. Maybe she likes her own food and drink and feels that she's in a five star hotel... personally I feel she's a bit 'eccentric'

[emmalou]

Ha ha...certainly sounds like Babs! I didn't think Hybrids went broody as much...ot maybe they are easier to snap out of broodiness? The others are fine it's just Babs.