Can you stop a hen from laying any more eggs? Someone I know has a hen that has laid 20 eggs already and they don't want her to lay more as, as we all know that is a lot of eggs. So can you stop them?

If laying in a breeding box, the box will need to be removed. I don't know of any other way

I'm new to all the breeding side. But I did read that removing the female into her own cage, away from the males and without a breeding box this will stop the mating process. If there are chicks still in the box as long as they are over 3 wks old the dad should take over the feeding but have to keep a eye on chicks to make sure that is happening.

Hopefully what I have read regarding this is correct and if I am wrong can someone please correct me so I can also learn the correct way . Cheers and good luck

You can do some things to shake her up and give her the idea that she doesn't want babies at this time. But those things don't necessarily work. Still, it does't hurt to try them, and it's better for her if you can get her to stop.

 

Give her longer nights and shorter days.

 

Move her to a strange cage in a strange location, and/or rearrange the cage she is in.

 

Take away anything she could conceivably lay eggs in, including feed cups and newspaper flooring.

 

Taking away any newspaper also stops her from having something to shred for bedding. (Also take away any shredding toys she may have, since those will fuel her "make a nest" instincts.

 

Decrease the quality of her diet. But not too much, since she has been depleting her nutritional reserves, and needs good food. Definitely keep giving her calcium-she needs it! But a super-abundant diet is one of the triggers that it is time to raise a family. Birds in the wild breed when food is abundant for raising chicks. Finch breeders will often give their birds what they call an "austerity diet" during the non-breeding part of the year. Then use the increase to a breeding diet as a trigger to bring their birds into condition. But other people feed the same diet year round, so it's hard to advise about diet as a means to stop her from laying.

 

You should let us know if any of those ideas work. It's really just hearsay unless someone can give feedback on whether it works.

Thanks everyone, the person attempted taking the nest box out before I posted this topic, but she just laid on the cage floor which was just wire. She eventually stopped, cant remember now how many she laid for that other person. it was alot though