broody but not acting broody?

[Dhkoenig]

Hi All - Usually when one of my hens is broody I get the "cluck-cluck-cluck" and the screech with the fluffed out wings etc....the whole broody ball-o-wax. One of my hens is NOT acting broody in terms of behavior, but she has been nesting on and off for 2.5 days including two overnights. I checked her for a bound egg, but I don't feel anything in there. Just to be on the safe side I gave her a warm bath and some calcium and put some lubricant at her vent but she is not walking like an eggbound hen either. But she is not displaying the usual broody signs. She is eating/drinking and her comb looks normal. Perplexed!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sometimes a hen will sleep in a nest box to escape bullying on the roosts.

I've had hens lounge in the boxes during the day and not lay anything.

She also could be beginning to go broody but hasn't had that hormonal shift to push her fully into it.

I might block the nests or put her on the roosts in the evening, and see how it goes. If there's no squabbling than perhaps she's stuck somewhere between broody and not broody. Keeping her out of the nests at night may help to break her.

 

[Mrs. K]

I too have had them play at it for a couple of days before getting serious.

 

[Dhkoenig]

Thanks all - turned out she was pre-broody and then became officially broody. She is such a sweet girl that she wasn't nasty like some of my girls get when its that time of the season LOL. I have already broken her - one cool-ish breast bath and a day in the henatentery did the trick. One of my others is a real puzzle so I am going to post separately about that one.