Broodiness in a sizeable size of the flock is a cause of concern for farmers keeping commercial layers. The egg collection will drop ultimately leading to a reduction in earnings. Discouraging hens from going broody is thus a priority.
Broodiness is a maternal behavior in which chickens want to sit on eggs, hatch them, and become mothers to chicks. During this period, the chickens seize laying eggs for three weeks or more. Broodiness is a favorable quality for farmers who breed chickens. But if you keep commercial laying birds, you don’t want such a long period when you cannot collect eggs. Luckily, you can stop or break up a broody hen. Let’s discuss more about broodiness in poultry and the different methods you can use to stop it.
How do You Identify Broody Chickens?
Below are common behaviors in a broody hen:
- The bird sit on eggs for long periods and only break briefly for feed or toilet
- Your hen remove feathers under the belly
- The bird becomes aggressive especially when you try to get her out of the nest
- The bird screeches when you try to remove her from the nest box
- The chicken growl or peck at you if you try to collect the eggs under her
- The bird has an increased body temperature
Methods to Break the Broodiness in Laying Hens
Below are four ways you can stop your chicken from going broody:
Remove Her From the Nesting Box
When the chicken goes broody, she tends to remain in the nest for prolonged periods. Pick the bird up out of the nest and drop her off with the rest of the flock in the pen. This method can be more effective when used during feeding time. Repeat the method several times every day to try and break broodiness in the chicken.
Besides, ensure you collect eggs regularly and set your chickens away from the nesting area when collecting. Generally, hens accumulate several eggs before they go broody. when you remove eggs regularly, they have nothing to incubate and will keep laying.
Block Off the Nesting Box
You may realize that your bird keeps returning to the nesting box no matter how hard you try to remove her. With this method, you will remove her from the nesting box and block off the entry to this area.
Isolate the Broody Hen
Remove the broody hen from the laying flock and put her in temporary housing or wire cage. Ensure you provide water and feed. Let the broody hen stay in isolation for about one week. Sometimes, the wire cage may be elevated while ensuring adherence to safety, stability, and free airflow. An isolation pen ensures the hen has no warm, dark cozy corner to hide.
Use a Cool Water Bath
When the chicken become broody, the body temperature increases to ensure the incubating eggs remain warm. A cool (not cold) water bath can drop the temperature thus breaking the broodiness. However, avoid using extremely cold water or ice cubes to avoid causing health problems.
Breaking broodiness can be tough for some members of your poultry flock. Some hens are particularly determined and can resist all the efforts to stop her. if you have such a bird, you may have no alternative than providing some fertile eggs so she can hatch them.