How have you dealt with a broody hen?

[womanofthehills]

Other than having her for dinner. I read a post on another site where a guy said he put ice cubes under his hen and it worked within a few days. I'm about to try the ice cubes. If that doesn't work, I was thinking of marking 4 eggs and letting her sit on them. Any other ideas? I've never had a hen this determined - she's a buff brama.

[Arkansas Granny]

1. I don't know how to discourage a hen from setting once they are determined to do so.

We always used that as a chance to enlarge the flock. However, instead of allowing the hen to set for 21 days, my dad would go to the feed store and buy a few chicks and give them to the broody hen. To make sure she didn't reject them, he would wait until dark, when she wouldn't want to leave the nest anyway, put a little vanilla extract on his hands run them over the baby chicks to get the vanilla scent on them. Then he'd take them out to the hen, rub his hands on her beak and head so she couldn't smell anything but vanilla and put the chicks underneath her. By the time the vanilla smell wore off, the chick smelled like her and they were a "family".

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. What is your goal?

If you do not want more chicks, or if the eggs are not fertile, just take the eggs away daily.
Broody hens won't starve or die of thirst, so she will will lay an egg a day anyhow.
Eventually when she realizes there are no eggs hatching out, she will re join the flock.
That has been my experience anyhow.

FWIW...we had 2 of ours go broody in late May...one hen produced 3 female and one male chicks,
the other hen,after setting the same lengtrh of time, left the nest and we had to toss the eggs.
Apparenlty she was not as fertile as she thought she was.

[lastlib]

3. my solution was always extra-crispy, with cole slaw on the side.....

...with mashed potatoes/gravy. Sorry, can't be more help.......

[LWolf]

4. I let them set.

They have a rooster, so some or all of the eggs will hatch. Since my chickens free range, not all of the hatchlings will survive; they tempt hawks.

Those that do? I keep the pullets and give away or eat the cockerels, and sometimes some of the older hens. It keeps the flock young and the numbers where I want them.

At least, I did. My last broody hen got old and quit setting 4 years ago. The flock is gone, with the last 2 hens going just last month, and just the rooster left.

I may start all over next spring.

I guess you can collect the eggs from underneath her each day; wear gloves.

My broody hen/s sat anyone's eggs. As a matter of fact, they'd get eggs the other hens laid and roll them into the nest they chose.

[Mojorabbit]

5. That is what I did this year. Put a big x on a couple of the eggs and let her keep those. nt

[PuraVidaDreamin]

6. Build a small separate cage

Make the bottom of small wire. Keep some water in there. Feed daily.
Within two or three days they should break. I put mine in the duck pool daily too.

[womanofthehills]

7. Thanks for all the suggestions

PuraVidaDreamin - did you put the hen in the duck pool while in the cage? I think I'll try the wire cage.

dixiegrrrl - I really don't want more chicks till the spring, but if I had a few more, it would not be a big deal.
I do have a rooster - (he's huge like a monster rooster). I've been chasing the hen out of the nest with a net twice a day, but when she goes back in the hen house, she often sits in a different nest. Luckily, she does not peck at me but she is getting really annoyed with me. I've had other broody hens that gave up after a few weeks, but this hen has been at it for over a month now.

Arkansas Granny - I like how your dad enlarged his flock. If I have any broody hens in the spring, I might give his idea a try. I've always had my chicks in a separate area till they got bigger and then it was hard to introduce them as the older hens really picked on them. Great suggestion!

Thanks everyone for all the input!

[truegrit44]

8. I have had some sucess with this method

and just dip their bottoms in water a couple times a day. You need to make sure air gets underneath them so you can suspend the wire cage.
I hate broody hens as I don't want to raise any chicks that way and they take up a nest box and only have 3 boxes for my 9 layers. I have never had them lay anymore after they go broody they don't even care if they are setting on an egg or not, so no production from them.

I have rehomed a couple of them to folks that wanted to hatch eggs that way.