Peppermint oil trick stopped my hen from going broody

Last spring my Buff Orpington named Mabel went broody for like 3 weeks straight. I tried everything cold water baths, removing her from the box, nothing worked. Then this old timer at the feed store in Decatur told me to rub a few drops of peppermint oil under her wings. She snapped out of it in 2 days flat. Has anyone else tried essential oils for broodiness or is that just a weird local thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

jakegarcia3d ago

Used to call it hippie nonsense till it broke my RIR out of a brood.

janaw112d ago

@jakegarcia, calling it hippie nonsense is pretty spot on, because I can't see how a few drops of oil under a hen's wing would do anything but make her smell like a candy cane. The broody instinct is deeply hormonal and physical, not something a scent is going to override. It probably just happened to be coincidence that your hen snapped out of it when she did.