I also have a broody. I put mine in a wire cage, it's not important the type of wire but the bottom should be wire or something she won't try to "set" on. I use a dog kennel and take out the bottom tray. Normal feed and water for three days. No less. After 3 days let her out at night and put her on the roost. I have 21 hens that are boody's at all times of the year. Some are lousy mothers so I break them all the time. simplme

I have to broody silkies on the same eggs. The problem is that there isn't enough room for both hens...so the one sits on top of the hen sitting on top of the eggs....lol. What happened is that the one hen was already brooding eggs...the second hen came along and started laying eggs next to the broody hen. The broody hen would then take the new egg and put it in with her clutch. The other hen would go about her merry way. At some point the second hen decided it was time to brood her eggs. When there wasn't enough room she went ahead and started brooding the hen already on the clutch. They aren't fighting or stealing eggs back and forth. So I am going to leave it as it is. Both seem content. I'm hoping that since the eggs are in different stages of development that when they start hatching that one hen will stay with the chicks and the other will stay with the eggs. There is room, long ways, for both hens to have their own spot, but the area they are in isn't very deep. And the second hen insists on being as close to the eggs as possible, that's why she is sitting on top of the other hen. They are in my feedroom behind the hay box. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Some breeds are more prone to brood than others. Silkies and Games are most noted for their ability to brood. I use Sumatras and Phoenix since the Silkies were all killed. An investment in a couple good Silkie setters is not too much hardship and they DOI work well. I never set hatching eggs beneath a broody until she has set for a week, by then, they usually stay broody. You cannot force a hen to brood, to help them stay interested, give them a dark, secluded spot to to the job. They can be moved after they are setting tight, at night. I do it routinly.

I let a hen sit eggs this year, for the first time. I normally gather them and incubate the next year's layers, but this one was determined. I haven't had good luck other years, because several things happen. One is that other hens run her off or climb in the box when she is eating and lay more eggs. So then you never know which ones are developing. The ruckus to get in to lay eggs can cause broken ones as well and that ruins the ones who are still intact. Another problem is that if this continue you end up with a broody hen who is trying to sit twenty eggs. LOL. What I did was take in a pencil and mark the first five eggs on both ends with a pencil and then let her sit. She sat them out twice and produced nine chicks in two runs until she got bored. As soon as the chicks hatched, I had to put them in a brooder, however, as she refused to be moved with her chicks to a seperate pen. She went nuts. Many hens have tried to go broody over the years, but some start and then don't have a clue where to go from there. I've had them move to different boxes, or forget they had a clutch on a cold morning. I'd recommend moving her and her clutch to a seperate pen if she'll allow it. If not, watch her daily and keep removing any new eggs other hens lay in there and keep her eggs marked with the date she laid them. Give an extra day or two longer than if you'd incubated them. Sometimes, depending on the weather, they come a little sooner or later. Good luck.