A hen won’t announce that it’s about to go broody, but you’ll know when a hen goes broody. These birds will suddenly change behavior when broody, this drastic change in behavior is a sign that the bird is broody.
But what do you do about a broody hen with no eggs? This article looks into it
Table of Contents
Broody hen has no eggs:
A hen doesn’t have to have eggs to become broody. A hen becoming broody is a natural phenomenon that is caused by a combination of things including maturity, warm and dark spaces, hormones, and instinct.
A broody hen will produce no eggs, this is because broody hens cannot brood eggs and raise chicks at the same time.
The bird will stop egg laying completely when it goes broody and will focus on brooding the eggs that she currently has, that is, if she has any.
This may be all well and good for the bird but it can be bad for you if you’ve taken this bird as an egg-laying bird.
On top of that, broodiness is contagious, if one of your hens goes broody your other birds may go broody as well. You’d want to stop your birds from going broody if you want eggs to keep coming
What to do:
If your hen isn’t producing eggs then you’d need to break her out of her broody state to get her laying again. This is how to do this:
Create a broody cage:
This is a cage that you can construct that will help break your broody hen.
The cage should be made out of wire or mesh all around, especially at the bottom. The cage should be raised above the floor and it should be placed in a well-lit area away from the flock. You should also keep the broody hen’s eggs away from the cage.
Cool air will travel through the mesh and cool the bird’s belly. This cooling of the bird’s belly helps her get out of her broody state.
Being away from the eggs will also help the bird get out of her broody state.
The bird should be placed in this cage for as long as it takes her to get out of her broody state.
Give your bird food and water while she’s in the cage and leave her in this cage for about three days or longer. This is generally how long it takes the bird to stop being broody
Cool her off:
Chickens who are brooding eggs keep the eggs close to their stomachs to keep warm. Cooling the bird’s stomach will get her to stop being broody.
You can apply some cool water to the bird’s stomach to cool the bird down.
Some recommend that you use ice, or frozen vegetables, on the bird’s stomach to get her out of her broody state, this is not recommended.
Using ice or frozen vegetables on the bird’s stomach will shock the bird’s system and it is a cruel way to get her out of her broody state.
Give her chicks:
The aim of a broody hen is to hatch and raise a clutch of chicks, once she has chicks to raise she will stop being broody.
If you want your hen to stop being broody then give her some chicks to raise, this will quickly get her out of her broody state.
Buy the youngest chicks you can buy and place them under the broody hen. The hen will think she hatched the chicks and this will get her out of her broody state and she will start to raise these chicks as her own
What happens if you don’t break her:
Not breaking your broody hen can cause problems, hens should only be broody for 21 days. If she’s broody for longer than this it can negatively affect her health.
A broody hen doesn’t eat as much as she should, she will eat 80% less food than she usually eats. This is fine if she is only broody for 21 days but if she is broody for too long she will become malnourished.
Other negatives of hens brooding for too long include weight loss, dehydration, circulation problems, respiratory issues, a lack of vitamin D, heat exhaustion, increased chance of attracting mites or other parasites, and eventually death.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other chicken related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: What To Feed A Broody Hen, Broody Hen Keeps Switching Nests, Rooster Hates One Hen, Rooster Biting Hens Neck
