Inactive Chicken

[raleonard]

I have a Cinnamon Queen (I have a flock of 5) that is rarely leaving a nesting box. I have seen it out three times in the last two weeks. When I collect eggs, she is doesn't move, just clucks at me. Sometimes she is sitting on eggs, sometimes not. Not always the same nest.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

She sounds broody. Does she peck at you if you try to reach under her?

 

[raleonard]

She sounds broody. Does she peck at you if you try to reach under her?

Nope, she clucks and fluffs her feathers but has never pecked. They do not normally allow me to touch.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

If she does a raptor-style noise (I don't know how else to describe it, maybe a vulture??) when you go in there, she may be broody. Try picking her up and moving her, if she goes right back to the nest than she's broody. If not and she just lays down, you've got another problem.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

A lot of hens know that they are to be broody at a certain part of the year, but they don't know exactly what it means. They sit on an empty nest and defend it with vigor, but nothing is there to hatch.

I suggest ruling out the simple things first, then trying to narrow it down.

 

[raleonard]

A lot of hens know that they are to be broody at a certain part of the year, but they don't know exactly what it means. They sit on an empty nest and defend it with vigor, but nothing is there to hatch.

I suggest ruling out the simple things first, then trying to narrow it down.

I think it is brooding. I picked her up yesterday morning and took her out of the coop. She was sitting on 2 eggs. She stayed out for a while and went back in and sat on a different nest that had an egg. I will remove her on a daily basis.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

If you can, put her in a separate pen altogether for a couple days.

 

[aart]

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop and I would feed her some crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two.

Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken.

 

[Gavrocks]

really? is that being too harsh? and also, how many eggs do Cinnamon Queens lay a week?

 

[Gavrocks]

I have a Cinnamon Queen (I have a flock of 5) that is rarely leaving a nesting box. I have seen it out three times in the last two weeks. When I collect eggs, she is doesn't move, just clucks at me. Sometimes she is sitting on eggs, sometimes not. Not always the same nest.

wait. were you supposed to ask a question? no offense, but I don't see a question in that