Your birds sound great... :) Banties are such fun.

Broodies can either snap out of it in a couple of weeks or go hard-core and hunker down for weeks or months. What you can do is to make sure you remove eggs from under her several times throughout the day, and carry her away from the nest and set her down as far away from it as you can get, several times a day. I've got more info on how to break broody hens on my chicken info site, here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~velvetsparrow/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm

Good luck, some of those ladies are darned determined! :)

Velvet ~:>

Hi - I'm new to this forum but I have a question about broody hens. Will they "brood" themselves to death?

I recently lost a Silkie hen that I think was broody. I kept taking any eggs from her, but she kept setting in a corner and would not come out of the henhouse for about three weeks. She did eat a bit, but she certainly wasn't very active. No other apparent problems, but my daughter found her dead one morning last week. I got her last summer and she was supposed to be around a year old then, so I don't think it was old age. She'd been a productive layer up until early spring when they all moulted.

First, disrupting the broody hen. The best way is to remove her to a wire bottom cage such as a rabbit cage, with no straw, no nest box, and a feeder that isn't a bowl large enough to serve as a possible nest. Or you could just give her a setting of eggs and let her hatch them. This is probably the surest way, as it will occupy her time for weeks afterward while raising the chicks, and she'll be less likely to go broody again before fall.

Re: brooding to death. It's unlikely, but a hen does eat much less while brooding and does loose weight. She may have had something else going on before going broody, and the reduction of food while she set may have been enough to push her over the edge, but it probably wasn't the cause. Also, if she was laying she wasn't broody. Unless the eggs that you removed were from another hen, her lethargy while you were removing eggs was a sign that she was sick, not broody.

I am having the same problem AGAIN!! this summer three broody hens that have been that way at least three weeks I haven't gotten an egg in forever. The thing that bothers me thought is that the one hen I have that is not broody is not laying. Its like they all went on strike. I have introduced some newer pullets to the flock but I wouldn't think it would have bothered them that much since they were housed in full site of the older flock and they didn't seem to have a problem with the chicks when they were let in all together. I wonder if it could be the heat I am in SC and the weather is incredible hot and humid the air very heavy I wonder does that make a difference?

I'm glad you asked that question about dyeing when broody for lack of food because I was started to worry.

CI

sorry for above typos I was in a hurry S.

No sooner did I post about my one NOT broody hen NOT laying Then I went out to water and straighten up the coop and found a nest of about four eggs in, get this, the dog house. LOL I knew that dog had been looking at me funny all week, I wish I spoke dog. thinking back I noticed she hadn't been sleeping in there but didn't think much about it at the time. The hen has been getting out of her run but I figured it was because of the introduction of the new hens and the three broody ones being so grumpy.

I still can't believe the dog didn't do anything about it. didn't run her out and didn't mess with the eggs. LOL what a gal!!

CI

Good that you found out what your problem was, but if it's eggs that want, do some research and get a breed which does not usually set. You'll save yourself some dissapointment, and not be "upset" with birds which are only following their nature.

I just have a little backyard flock. I don't mind not getting eggs sometimes, this is mostly a learning experience for me.S As for researching thats a good idea, but I am very limited in the breeds I can find in my area. I had to drive over an hour to find my newest three from a feed N seed store, then found out after two months of caring for them that one is not the breed it was sold as. instead of a leghorn I got a meat chicken. I couldn't believe it. I mostly depend on finding people in the area that are willing to give up one or two. I started with three game hens. but they are not very friendly. One thing is for sure I am learning soooo much so I enjoy each new surprise and try to take it as a learning experience. S

CI