Broody Barnevelder

[Gorsty]

Hi folks

Has anyone any advice on how to stop my Sarah being broody?

Only have three girls and NO cockerel so don't really want her sitting around for three weeks doing nothing

Locked her out of the house yesterday and it was so sad to see her going around and around the coop trying to find a way back inside.

Have read somewhere about putting them in a small house with a mesh floor - we have another smaller/sick bay house - we could make a false floor - what size mesh do we need.

Another idea was to dip her in cool water on a couple of occasions to bring her body temperature down.

Any help much appreciated

Bye for now

Gorsty

[elizajay]

The mesh is to let air circulate around her chest to cool her down, it doesn't matter how big it is as long as she can stand on it without her feet falling through. I find a few days does the trick with mine. I leave her in my cat basket on top of the run so that there is plenty of air circulation with layers pellets and water. She sleeps in the coop at night and the morning she comes out of the coop with the others rather than sitting on imaginary eggs is the day the cat basket gets put away

[OverWyreGrower]

If I don't want to hatch, I pop my broody in a small metal dog crate (with the tray taken out)...

I put food and water in there, and site it somewhere in my main run, but in the shade. She gets a nice cool breeze on her underside, and can still see what everyone else is doing.

Last year, it took 3 days in there to stop her being broody. This year, we've let her hatch some eggs!

[Gorsty]

She's a bit big to go in my wire cat basket but I do have a dog crate somewhere.

The hen house and covered run is actually on concrete slabs so whilst the other two get to free range all day and go back in to lay,I have penned her up in one end with pellets & water. The slabs are nice and cool but she is still very broody and squawks at me every time I go near.

Will find the dog crate and try that tomorrow.

Thanks to you both.

[RichmondHens]

You could get an old rabbit hutch, take the floor off and replace with chicken wire. Then stand it up on bricks so the air passes underneath. As well as cooling her off it should be uncomfortable enough so it discourages her from sitting down. It will be big enough to accommodate a hen for a few days. Then leave her in it. Don't get her out of it at night, or anything. Just leave her there with food and water and she should get fed up eventually.

If that doesn't work then the only answer is to wait it out or give her an egg to hatch!