Hens sitting in nest box for a couple of hours, but not laying

Date sort Score sort
Hello!

Thank you so much for the updates. I really really appreciate it since I'm having the sitting in the nest box but no egg issue for almost three months now (she is also molting). Now the sad part is that today I have discovered that my sweetheart has her belly swollen.

And as hope is the last thing lost, I ask, the second hen of your story is still alive?
 
kurka0 said:
Hello!

Thank you so much for the updates. I really really appreciate it since I'm having the sitting in the nest box but no egg issue for almost three months now (she is also molting). Now the sad part is that today I have discovered that my sweetheart has her belly swollen.

And as hope is the last thing lost, I ask, the second hen of your story is still alive?
Click to expand...

Sadly she is not. She died last month of unknown causes. A couple of weeks before she passed she just seemed to lose her zip and appetite. She wasn't swollen or visibly sick, she just seemed to run out of steam. She was approaching 5 and from my reading, that is when a lot of hatchery birds (which was what she was) start fading.

However, in the time between my last post and her death, she went full broody in the summer of 2016 (I'm pretty sure it was broody instincts that had her on the nest box for such long stretches) and raised a wonderful brood of four chicks. She was an outstanding mother, and will be sorely missed.
 
Sorry for taking so long to answer. Once again, thank you very much for answering me. I'm very sorry about your hen. I'm glad to know she had a great life!
 
Morrigan said:
I have two hens, 2 and 3 years old who haven't laid an egg in several weeks. It took me a while to figure this out because each hen still goes into the next box, pretty much every day, and sits there for an hour or two. But they leave it empty when they go. They are not broody, as they leave the boxes after sitting there a while and roost at night. They are not molting, they look healthy, they are not eating their eggs, they just aren't laying.

Anyone know what's going on? Any hope that they might start laying again? I'm reaching a point where I need to decide whether to cull them, to make room for some new birds, but don't want to be premature about it.

Any insights would be welcome. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hi, I just read your post, and oh my I have a hen doing the same thing! She had gotten sick a few months ago, not sure why and but was not egg bound. I nursed her back to health and she is very healthy now, but not laying. She goes into the nest box and stays for an hour, leaves no egg. So if you get a helpful response, please share. All the best to you
 
I know this is an old thread. But I thought I would let you know what one of my hens are doing. She's a Malay. About 3 years old. She stops laying in the winter. In the spring she will set in the next box on and off all day. But she eats and drinks fine. After a couple of weeks she'll start laying and she's just as normal as any chicken. Until the next spring. And it starts all over again. She's done this ever since she first started laying when she was about 9 or 10 months old. I have never had a hen do this before. The way her body is shaped I can tell of there's an egg in her.
 

Similar threads

G
    • Like
Won't lay in nest box
Replies
7
Views
502
Gma213
G
MaeM
Hen sits in the nest box but doesn't lay any egg
Replies
1
Views
888
azygous
azygous
StinkyAcres
    • Like
Older hen sitting in nest box but not laying
2
Replies
12
Views
1K
StinkyAcres
StinkyAcres
M
    • Love
    • Like
Chicken sits in nesting box but doesn’t lay
Replies
4
Views
413
Debbie292d
Debbie292d
J
    • Like
Reliable laying Hens suddenly not laying in nesting boxes! Help
2
Replies
13
Views
570
rosemarythyme
rosemarythyme

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom