How to prevent Hen Broodiness

How to stop broody Hen

Broodiness is a condition in which laying hens have a desire to set their eggs. When hens go broody they stop laying eggs and marshal their physiological and behavioral resources for incubating and hatching chicks. This is a favorable condition if one wants to produce chicks through the natural nesting process. But broodiness is undesired in layer farming business.

Broody hens stop laying eggs, so it’s necessary to stop a broody hen if you want her to lay eggs again. A hen can go broody if she wants to hatch some eggs out herself.

Generally spring and the summer months are the brooding season for the chickens (although some chickens can go broody at anytime of of year).

Stopping a broody hen can be quite difficult and time consuming process. But you will hopefully break your broody hen shortly if you follow the right steps.

There are a few easy methods that can be tried if you want to try to stop a hen from being broody.

But in some cases a determined hen will sit almost anywhere and won’t be put off. However here we are describing more about how to stop a broody hen.

How to prevent Hen Broodiness

Move Her From the Nesting Box

The first step for stopping a broody hen is to move her from the nesting box. She may decide to give up if you keep taking her off the nest and putting her outside. This often require many attempts each day.

Close the Door

Block the area or close the door of your chicken coop if your hen continues to go back inside the coop. Blocking the area will force the hen into the run.

Allowing the hens to roam freely may take her mind off the broody nature and encourage her to explore outside instead.

Cooling

Cooling the broody hen off will make good result. Take her off the nest and dunk her underside into a bucket of cool water until her feathers are wet.

This could be a distraction for her as her instinct is now to dry herself off and preen her feathers by which time she may head straight back to the nest, or may have forgotten about the nest. Do this only in the warmer months so the hen doesn’t get cold.

Move the Hen To a New House

Moving from existing house to another house will help to stop a broody hen. You can move the broody hen to a small outdoor run and don’t give her access to the house.

Distract the Hen

Introducing new treats or making special toys for the chickens will help to distract them.

Chickens are curious birds and they can easily distracted by hanging fruit, hiding food and also by giving something to scratch.

Collect Eggs Daily

Collecting eggs daily will also help to stop your hen to become broody.