Mrs Boss is broody. How to stop a hen being broody
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 121 comments
Mrs Boss is one of the original bantams that we bought three years ago. A bantam is a breed of small chicken. As you can see from the photo she is white with pretty black and white feathers around her neck. She reminds me of the portraits of English cavaliers sitting so proud in their lace collars. She also has feathered feet.
When she arrived she was boss, ticking the other hens off if they stepped out of line. But gradually the others fought back and now her demotion is final. She is right at bottom of the pecking order and has a tough time.
Mrs Boss is broody at the moment. This means, as Danny says, “She’s in the mood to raise a brood”. Bantams have a natural tendency for broodiness but this has become a life mission for Mrs Boss. In a way it’s understandable. She can sit in the dark gloom of the nesting box away from the pecking and bullying. The only problem is that if a hen is broody, she does not lay eggs, and Mrs Boss’s small white eggs are the sweetest of them all.
How to stop a hen being broody is fairly simple. If you can prevent her from settling comfortably, she will stop being broody within a week or so. Some hens are fine again after thee days in the broody coop; Mrs Boss is a long termer. The trick is to construct a cage with a floor made of large wire mesh (at least 1″ squares). Put the cage on bricks so that the floor is suspended, keeping the bricks to the outside edges so that she can’t sit on them. Find instructions here on how to make a broody coop. Provide a small drinking fountain and feeder within the cage and pop her in. She will not be able to settle comfortably on the wire mesh floor and within a few days will get over her broodiness.
Mrs Boss hates the broody coop. When we give the other hens treats, such as corn or kitchen scraps, she leaps up and down in her cage in a fury of frustration and rage until she’s given her share. When she has served her time and is released, the first thing that she does is have a long luxurious dust bath.
Tips and tricks:
- When a hen is broody, the comb on the top of her head changes colour from red to pink. Check the colour of her comb every day when she is in the broody coop. When the comb is red she can be let out of prison and will not immediately return to the nesting box, except to lay an egg. It took me ages to work this out.
- If you have a broody hen and don’t want to go down the broody coop path, she will probably remain broody for the entire summer. Every morning and evening, it’s vital to lift her out of the nesting box, or wherever she has settled, so that she can eat and drink. Broody hens can starve to death if ignored.
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What brilliant advice!
I have a broody Wyandotte and now a Barnvelder has joined her in the nesting box! It deffinately has put the other hens off laying. I will try the broody coop! Also the loss of feathers on the barnvelders neck mentioned earlier is interesting as mine always loses her head and neck fearthers in the summer. I think she is a very hot bird as i have treated her constantly with anti-lice/mite treatments. her skin is very red underneath.
Hello Brown
Great idea to use your broody to raise some young for you. Buff Orpingtons are wonderful hens. The best of luck.
They are big hens so Boom Boom can accommodate more than Mrs Boss. The chicken Lady’s broody hatched out ten chicks (from eleven eggs), so you could go for broke and try twelve. Sadly, there are always some casualties.
I’d love to hear how you get on!
Delighted to find your site tonight, since I have decided the best we can do with our broody girl is see if she’ll raise some young for us. Currently, we live “nowhere”, on the banks of the Pamlico river with 1 Buff Orpington – Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom, and 2 white leghorns Foxine and Esmerelda. It didn’t take a neurosurgeon to realize that BoomBoom is broody, but your site certainly cleared up some observations. We’ve decided to order some fertile eggs for her and hope for the best. We’ll also be ordering day old chicks as we expand a little, for their appears to be a growing market for subscription free range/organic eggs.
Any suggestions – such as how many eggs for BoomBoom are appreciated. And many thanks to all.
Brown
Hello Rowena
Bantams are supposed to go broody at the drop of a hat. Out of four hens with a tendency to go broody we got just one – Mrs Boss.
I reckon that it is easier if you have a hen to do the rearing for you but you will have far fewer eggs during the lifespan of a breed with a broody tendency. So if they never go broody you have drawn a bit of a dud hand!
Swings and roundabouts.
Good luck with your chicks. I’d love to hear how you get on.
just found these posts whilst searching for Elderflower receipes… and I too have two hens that will not go broody George. So you are not alone. I was wondering what was up with mine but clearly some just do (when you don’t want them to) and others never want to! Typical – but good to know its just the way of the world. I have asked a neighbour to incubate some ‘should be’ fertile eggs for me in an incubator and will then have to do the rearing bit myself – a pity as it would be easier if the hen did it herself but, its all learning isn’t it!
Hello Vicky
Great to hear that your broody hen started to lay only four days after release from prison!
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Here’s hoping for a broodyless summer.
Hi again!
Thank you for your reply. Just thought that some people might like to know it took our broody bantam four days to lay again after being released from the anti-broody cage. She was out on Tuesday and we had our first egg in six weeks from her on Saturday. Hurray!!!All the eggs that the three girls lay are different to each other but distinctive to them. Even my two children know who has laid which egg!
I will know what to do now if any of the girls go broody again…as we are not planning on hatching out chicks.
many thanks and kind regards,
Vicky
Hello Tasha
The hen is broody, the flattening is a good pointer. The best wasy to stop her being broody is to make a broody coop (easy) there is a link to the instructions in the post above.
Good luck, I’d love to hear how she gets on!
Hi, have been reading your posts, just looking for a little advice for my mum! she has 4 girlies, all bought at point of lay and all now laying. Today have started to have problems with our white sussex (hybrid) Ivory, she has been laying for about 3ish weeks and seemed fit and healthy, she layed as usual this morning, but has now re-entered the nest box and will not move! if you look in at her she flattens herself and makes odd noises, to be honest she looks pretty peeed off!! I recon she’s gone broody but my mum doesn’t agree. What do you guys think? We’ve only just had all four laying, and have hd prblems with feather pecking, now resolved, and i don’t want mum to lose out on eggs again. Also she’ll worry as she is very attached, as i am secretly! Thanks in advance Tasha
Hello Wendy
Good news about Mrs Pepper. Interesting to know that you had to wait ten days before she started laying again.
It’s so sad when one loses a hen. Poor you.
Hello Vicky
Thanks so much for leaving this comment. A broody hen not sitting on fertile eggs quickly becomes a miserable creature.
I feel mean putting a hen into the anti broody coop but within a few days she is back to her old self again and enjoying the summer.
So pleased that it worked quickly for you.