Usually, when one of our hens goes broody, we let her continue to set so that she can hatch and raise chicks.  Occasionally, though, a hen will go broody at the wrong time. Maybe we don’t have space for her to raise her young, or the weather is too cold and damp. If you want a hen to stop setting, you can use the following approach to break her broodiness.

Move her into a well lit cage that has a wire mesh bottom, made from hardware cloth. The cage should be several feet off the ground, and it should not feel very private to the hen. As always, provide food and water for the hen. Usually within a few days, she will no longer be broody, then you can put her back with the rest of the flock.