Brooding, reloaded

So it appears we have a second broody hen -- our other Buff Orpington, Ellen.  Actually this is not news, she's been broody for a couple of weeks, but with the kitchen remodel and its assorted issues we've been too busy to concern ourselves much with breaking her of her brood. And so she's sat in the roost, every day,  except when we'd physically remove her from the roost and put her out to free range every day.  

But after her free range time, she'd go right back up to the roost to brood again.  It's not harmful so much as annoying, since she lays no eggs during the time she's brooding.  And of course with the summer heat I worry about her sitting in a hot roost every afternoon, instead of down at ground level in the cool breeze and shade with her other hen friends.

You might remember we dealt with this same condition in our other Buff Orpington hen, Portia, a few months ago.  At that time, we tried numerous tricks to break the brood and get her back to normal.  Bottom line, there's a lot of old wives' tales and hocus-pocus remedies out there which do not work, so if you search the internet looking for brood-breaking fixes, be prepared.

Ellen in Chicken Guantanamo

What does seem to work is putting the hen into a cage with a wire bottom, thereby keeping her cooler.  Brooding relates to female hormones, which in turn causes the hen to produce enough heat to hatch a clutch of eggs.  A wire-bottomed cage prevents the hen from becoming too warm, and eventually the hormones seem to just give up and return to normal.  Cool baths also help, but the fact is I think a brood has to run its cycle.  In other words, you may shorten the cycle by taking these two steps, but you won't eliminate it completely.

Buff Orpington hens are great layers but they are prone to broodiness, so if you're buying hens purely for egg production, this is a consideration. They will produce like crazy...but they will also brood, and during that time you'll get nothing.

 Of course if you are hatching chicks, broodiness is a great sign, since it usually indicates the hen will make a protective and caring mother.  But I will also say that broodiness does disrupt the general harmony of the chicken coop, as a brooding mother does not like to share the roost area with others.  Just one more thing to factor in when choosing a chicken breed for your laying flock.