My chicken is soaking wet

One of my 6 chickens is soaked. Only the top of her feathers and the rest of her is dry. There is no water coming in to the coop and she just sits in the nesting box. We are worried about her because she doesn't really leave the nesting box like the others to get food and water. She honestly looks depressed. We took her inside last night so she could dry off but she has been wet for a few days now and we have no idea how she is getting wet. The hay she is laying on is dry as well as every other chicken. Is she making herself wet somehow? Is this a social thing? We are at a loss what to do with her. Once we took her inside alone she was able to get dry and was much more chipper as well, eating and drinking and even walking around. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hello and welcome to BYC!

If you are finding her wet in the nest box only, sounds like a ventilation problem. If your air is very humid and cold, as she breathes warm air, it rises to the top of the nesting box and falls back down on her as water.

Is she actually broody or is she staying in there to avoid aggression from the others? A broody will fluff up, growl at you, maybe even bite you as you reach into the box. She will cluck cluck cluck all over the place when she does come out of the box. A broody doesn't have to set on eggs either, they would incubate a rock if they are truly broody.

If she is not broody, then she may be hiding from the others due to aggression...she is scared and refuses to come out. This will kill her eventually, so if this is the case, you will need to make some different arrangements in your coop by adding more room and more food and water stations so she can get sustenance. Even removed aggressive birds, cage them or use pinless peepers on them.

If it is none of the above, give her an over all exam. She may be sick and withdrawing from the flock. Check her crop for fullness at bedtime, emptiness in the morning, look for mites or lice on her body, feel her abdomen for a water belly, check her breast bone for extreme thinness, check for injuries under her wings, abdomen, etc....color of comb, color of poop and its consistency....All looking for clues as to what is causing her to feel ill.

If her chest is incredibly wet, but not the rest of her body, peel open her chest feathers to make sure her crop has not burst open.

I hope you can get down to the bottom of this!!

Thank you for your response! We put her back with the others last night and she seemed better and we also opened two of the windows so hopefully she wont' be getting wet anymore! Thanks so much for your help!!