This picture is what happens when I forget to take a picture of our broody hens.

This past week three of our four hens decided to all get broody at once. And since we have only one nesting box they all crammed into the box as tight as passengers in economy class in what passes for air travel these days. Since it’s August and hot and humid, I began to worry that they would overheat.

Then I remembered a trick passed along by a UC David avian veterinarian at a conference I recently attended. He suggested giving broody hens a cold (out of the tap) bath. I gave this a try, giving each broody hen a 30 second dip in a shallow tub of water (just enough to get their derrieres wet). It worked immediately and they spent the rest of the day scratching, eating, drinking and running around.

But by the next day they were back in the nesting box. I spoke to Dr. Google who informed me that it sometimes takes more than one bath for this trick to work. After another 30 second dip in a cold bath they have not returned to the nesting box.

If you live in a cold climate I’d suggest drying them off after the bath.

Have you tried the cold bath technique? Did it work for you?

One problem with having chickens is the inevitable rat/mouse buffet that happens around the feeders. In addition to busting your feed budget, rodents spread diseases such as virulent forms of salmonella.

One of the suggestions at the poultry seminar I attended last week was using treadle feeders. Think of it as a Skinner box for chickens. Chickens walk up to the feeder, step on a treadle, and feed is dispensed. It beats having to wake up at five in the morning to put out food in a conventional feeder.

You have to teach your chickens how to use a treadle feeder. One of the veterinarians suggested putting something shiny on the feeder. Your flock will step up to peck at it and discover that the feeder opens.

There are two problems I can think of with a treadle feeder. One was mentioned by a fellow classmate. Squirrels figured out how to open her feeder. Damn squirrels again! But I don’t think I’ll have that problem, because I’ve never seen a squirrel in my coop.

An alternative that I thought of is a feeder on a timer which opens up when the sun rises and closes up at dusk. The only ones I can find like this are the kind hunters use and they just drop the feed on the ground, which is not ideal for chickens. This could be an Arduino project, but I don’t have the programming chops.

My other problem is simply choosing a treadle feeder. A cursory glance at the Interwebs revealed so many options that I’m confused. This is where you come in. Do you have a treadle feeder? How has it worked for you? What is your favorite model? Or do you think they are a bad idea?