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emmalou

Breaking a broody hen

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How do I know when a hen is no longer broody? Tonight is her second night in the cage but needed to let her out to clean it without risking my hand coming off. She went pretty much straight into the nest (after 10 mins) so back she went. She buck buck bucks all the time so is hard to tell by that and she often fluffs up her feather anyway so that is difficult to judge too. She seems all set to come out and is not sitting down in the cage but we have no eggs.

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first I don't try to break mine I just leave them to come out in their own time so it takes a few weeks. but once they give up trying to hatch eggs or thin air with a couple of the more determined bad broodies i.e ones I can't or won't use then the prance about muttering and swearing to themselves having a go at all the hens they think are below them and been completely antisocial for a week or two the it's all mates again until next time they think they should be broody luckily the useless ones it's only once a year. others it can be every few weeks from winter to Autumn or molting time which ever comes first

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Madame has just squeezed out of the broody cage whilst I was cleaning it and has gone straight into the roost section and was first on the pole tonight! All the others had to fight for space! Like you say, maybe she is fooling me or maybe she has realised that she actually is a well behaved girl and has gone straight to bed. :lol:

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Yes, they can fool you! I was sure that Clara had snapped out of it once and she went onto the roosting bars at night instead of the nest box... next morning she was sitting on the nest all broody again! Now she gets an extra day in the cage after I think she's finished!

 

Her comb starts to get redder when she's coming out of broodiness, she stops being fluffed up all the time, her 'mother hen' calls change to a pipping sound again, she doesn't spend all her time out of the nest preening and she's more upright in stance, rather than looking a big dejected with her tail down. She also rejoins the flock and stops being as bad tempered with them!

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Yes, they can fool you! I was sure that Clara had snapped out of it once and she went onto the roosting bars at night instead of the nest box... next morning she was sitting on the nest all broody again! Now she gets an extra day in the cage after I think she's finished!

 

Her comb starts to get redder when she's coming out of broodiness, she stops being fluffed up all the time, her 'mother hen' calls change to a pipping sound again, she doesn't spend all her time out of the nest preening and she's more upright in stance, rather than looking a big dejected with her tail down. She also rejoins the flock and stops being as bad tempered with them!

Thing is, Babs is always fluffing her feather and she will stand there and give like a Grrrr noise and flap her feathers for a few second then carry on eating etc, She bucks all the time so for me is hard to know when she isn and isn't broody apart from when she sits on her nest.

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I am also wondering about holidays. Babs (as with all hens) can be a little unpredictable with broodiness and I was keen to know nall cope when it comes to holidays?mWe have a good neighbour looks after them whilst we are away but the broodiness makes it diffiuclt if we are away. How do you cope with a broody hen if they happen to be broody during a holiday and minimise the hadtle if you have someone looking after them?

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Her comb starts to get redder when she's coming out of broodiness,

a lot of My lot don't 'switch the welcome lights off' when broody or moulting and it drives the cockerels loopy they think the girls are in the mood but end up getting a right kicking for their troubles

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a lot of My lot don't 'switch the welcome lights off' when broody or moulting and it drives the cockerels loopy they think the girls are in the mood but end up getting a right kicking for their troubles

 

Yes, they do get rather feisty! Clara does go really pale when she goes broody, she only has a tiny comb so maybe it's more responsive in the colour change department :lol:

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