The Best Way to Break a Broody Hen (and How to Prevent It) ~ Homestead and Chill

Do you have stubborn, hormonal, broody chicken on your hands? Let’s talk about how to break a broody hen! This post will cover everything you need to know about broody basics, including why it’s not good for their health, the most tried-and-true way to stop or “break” the cycle, and how to prevent chickens from going broody in the first place.

RELATED: Keep your flock as healthy as possible (and save money!) by fermenting chicken feed. Our girls love it, and the extra nutrients get passed down into their eggs too.

What is a broody hen?

A broody hen is a female chicken that is determined to sit on eggs with the intention of incubating them to hatch. Rather than leaving the nest after laying a routine egg, a broody hen will continue to sit on the eggs, laying or collecting more and more beneath her – whether the eggs are fertilized or not. Hens can go broody regardless if you have a rooster in your flock.

While it’s part of a hen’s natural instinct and hormone cycles, some breeds or individual chickens are more prone to going broody than others. For instance, Buff Orpington’s and Silkies are notorious for wanting to be moms! On the other hand, some hens may never go broody at all. Chickens are most likely to go broody in the spring or summer, though it can happen any time of year.

A broody hen is sitting atop and number of eggs, her head is turned and her beak is open. — This is Megg. She has never gone full broody (yet) but if I leave any eggs in the nest, she’ll sit on them until I collect them. Then she carries on with her day.

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How to tell if a hen is broody

The most obvious sign that a hen is broody is when she is hunkered down and won’t leave the nest. If you remove her from the coop, she’ll run right back into the nest boxes.

When approached, a broody hen will usually puff up her feathers to make herself look larger. She will often make funny high-pitched vocalizations or growling noises, akin to a pterodactyl dinosaur. A broody hen may also peck at you while defending her clutch.

Note: Some of my girls will fluff up and make noises when I check on them in the nest box (even when they aren’t broody) but leave the coop shortly after laying their egg.

A blue and grey hen is nestled into a nest box, feathers fluffed up in a brooding position. — Brisby demonstrating full fluffy broody mode. Megg and Brisby are both olive eggers, our two most broody gals currently.

Is being broody a bad thing? Why stop it?

Unless you want your chicken to have babies, it is not good to let a hen be broody. While broody, she will not take care of herself as she normally would, which can easily lead to health issues. So much so, brooding hens usually require special care and separation from the rest of the flock.

Therefore, it’s important to stop or break the cycle as soon as you notice broody behavior. Especially if you don’t have a rooster! Without fertilized eggs, they’re putting themselves at risk for nothing.

While brooding, most hens will only leave the nest once or twice a day to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom. In some cases, some extra-stubborn gals refuse to get up at all! This behavior can quickly lead to dehydration, weight loss, and nutritional deficiencies.
During hot summer weather, refusing to leave the coop for fresh air greatly increases the risk for heat stroke or even heat-related death. Chickens are far more sensitive to hot temperatures than the cold, and broody hens have an even higher internal temperature!
Broody hens may pluck out their own chest and belly feathers in an attempt to sit closer to and better warm the eggs. Once they return to the flock, the exposed skin puts them at risk of pecking and bullying by the others.
Broody hens stop laying eggs. They focus their attention on conserving energy and incubating their clutch instead. So even after you break a broody hen, she may not lay eggs for a few weeks after.

A black copper Marans female chicken sits next to a handful of baby chicks in hay.

How to prevent hens from going broody

There are a number of easy ways to prevent your chickens from going broody. While none of these are foolproof, they should help reduce the likelihood.

Collect eggs at least daily. The more eggs left sitting the nest, the more likely it will trigger the urge to brood them! If you have a lot of chickens, try to collect eggs a few times per day if your schedule allows.
Encourage chickens to leave the nest box once they’ve laid an egg. If I see my gals hanging out after they’re done, I give them gentle nudge to get out and move on with their day.
When you get new chickens, choose breeds that are less prone to go broody. For instance, Barred Rocks, Leghorns, Legbars, Rhode Island Reds, and Barnvelders are a few common breeds that rarely go broody (though nothing is guaranteed).
Look for hidden nests or laying spots in the coop, run or yard. Sometimes they prefer to brood in hiding!

A wire basket with wood handle is full of eggs that vary in color from dark brown to green and blue. It is held in front of an access door to the nest boxes to easily collect eggs.

How to Break a Broody Hen: First Steps

It’s best to intervene as soon as you notice your hen acting broody. The longer she’s allowed to sit on eggs, the deeper into the cycle she’ll get, and the more difficult it will be to “reset” her. Before I explain the best way to break a very determined broody hen (below), here are a few easier steps you can try first – especially if you catch it early.

Collect all the eggs and remove her from nest and coop. Her body will likely be stiff and resistant, so don’t just shove her off! Gently pick her up and take her outside to the chicken run or yard. Offer some chicken-safe treats to help her get some calories, doubling as a nice distraction. If she returns to the nest later in the day, repeat the process several times if needed. Consistency is key! Yet if she immediately runs straight back to the nest, proceed to the next steps.
Cool her down. When a hen is broody, her body temperature becomes elevated to help incubate the eggs. So, sometimes lowering their body temperature can help reset her hormones. One simple way is to tuck a frozen water bottle or ice pack beneath her. (I wrap mine in a paper towel so it isn’t overly cold against her.) Another option is to gently dunk her lower half in cool water for a minute or two, but only do this when it’s warm and dry outside!

If these steps don’t work, it’s time to separate her.

An ice pack is held out while the access door to the nest boxes is open, revealing a broody hen occupying one of the boxes. — Before setting up a broody pen for Brisby (and after removing her from the nest box over and over), I tried to cool her down by placing an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel under her.

A broody hen is sitting on top of an ice pack in a nest box in an attempt to break her broody behavior. — She just sat on the ice pack for hours, until it turned warm! Lol. Okay, I guess it’s time for broody jail.

The Best Way to Break a Broody Hen: Separation

When all else fails, the absolute best way to break a broody hen is to separate her in a smaller, safe enclosure for a few days – aka broody jail. The main goal is to prevent her from accessing the nest boxes (or other places she may want to brood), but it’s not recommended to block off the nesting boxes if you have other laying hens.

To separate your broody hen, either fence off a small section of the chicken run or keep her in a large dog crate. I prefer the fence method so she has more room to scratch and move around, rather than just laying there in a nesting position. If using a crate, remove the solid floor and nestle the wire bottom into the dirt or sand. See example photos below.
Provide food and water in the broody pen, and ensure it is safe from predators.
To reduce stress and disruption to the pecking order, keep her in a location where she is still part of the flock as much as possible. Also choose a location that’s in shade to partial shade.
To fully break a broody hen, it’s best to keep her separate and away from the nest boxes for at least two full days, perhaps three or four in some cases. Let her out after two full days. If she runs back to the nest box, immediately return her to broody jail.
At night, I like to let my broody girls sleep in the coop on the roost with the rest of the flock so she feels safe. I also believe the act of roosting helps reset normal behavior compared to laying in a crate all night. Yet to ensure she doesn’t return to the nest boxes, I wait until sundown, block off the nest boxes with a board, move her from her broody pen to the coop roost after dark, and then go back out first thing in the morning to put her back into her separate pen before uncovering the nest boxes for the rest of the flock. If you can’t block your nesting boxes, you may need to keep her in a crate in the coop overnight.
Some people suggest to elevate the broody crate to increase airflow and cooling, but I haven’t found that necessary. If you do that, be sure the bottom of the crate has a fine enough mesh floor for her to safely and comfortably stand on.

Garden fencing is sectioned off inside of a larger protected chicken run to isolate one chicken with food and water available.. Many other chickens are outside of the sectioned off area, looking within. — Brisby in broody jail. We used a combination of wire garden fencing and stakes to make her a small separate pen inside the run.

A chicken is looking at a hanging suet chicken treat as many other chickens are looking at it from the other side as its hanging on fencing that is separating one chicken from the others. — Treat blocks are always a nice distraction.

A young chicken is inside a large black wire dog crate that has been nestled into the ground. A food and water container are inside the cage as well, many other chickens of similar age are standing around the outside of the cage. — An example of separating using a dog crate inside the run. (We were monitoring a health concern for our young girl here, but same idea.)

A black and white silver laced Wyandotte chicken pecks around in front of nest boxes that have been closed off with a piece of plywood. — Blocking off the nest boxes overnight while the broody sleeps in the coop with the rest of the flock, to be uncovered once she’s back in her pen at sunrise.

And that should do it!

After following these tips and steps, you should be able to successfully break a broody hen. Unfortunately, persistent chickens will likely try again sooner or later. Some chicken keepers eventually cave in and let them hatch some eggs, or give them a clutch of fertilized eggs if they aren’t already. Personally, we have enough chickens at the moment… so we’ll pass on more chicks!

I hope you found this post to be helpful. Please feel free to ask any questions or share your experiences in the comments below.

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