chickens
equipment
broody hen cage
If you keep breeds of chickens that
are prone to go broody then it is a good idea to have a broody hen cage.
broody hen cage design
My broody hen cage. The water
container and feed dispenser can be seen on the left.
It should be suspended above the ground so air freely flows under and through the cage but it also should be protected from the weather and shaded from direct sunlight.
Place water and food containers inside the cage, preferably tying them to the side of the cage to ensure that they can't be accidentally knocked over.
It should be big enough to hold two to three hens as you may get more than one hen going broody at a time.
While temporary broody hen cages can be built I find it best to have one permanently set up as this minimises the effort required to deal with a broody hen.
Other uses for a broody hen cage
A broody hen cage also makes a good holding pen for chickens
that you are going to kill . If I have a chicken I want to
dispatch then I simply take it off the roost at night and place it in
the broody hen cage for processing in the morning. As chickens
have virtually not night vision taking a chicken off the roost at night
is much easier than trying to catch it in the chicken run during the
day.managing broody hens
For more information on broody hen management see:
Managing Broody Hens.