Urgent advice broody hen lost eggs now not eating

[Molly194]

Our hen sat on eggs for 40 days and was eating and drinking during that time, she lost all her eggs and we separated her so she would stop sitting and have a break. She ended up getting wet overnight and now is not eating or drinking and is very lethargic. Is this just exhaustion or is she depressed from not hatching any chicks?

This was her first time being broody
She is around 3 years old
Her comb is pink
Poops are a mix of runny and normal

We have brought her inside to warm up and syringe fed some water and crushed pellets.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[Molly194]

She is not able to stand up

 

[Eggcessive]

Take her aside and get her drinking electrolytes with vitamins, and fluids. Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell 2 ml orally per day plus fluids might give her a quick boost. Offer moistened chicken feed and scrambled egg. If she won’t drink or eat, you might tube feed her. She is mostly weak, or could be getting sick.

That is way too long to have let her sit on eggs, so she may be very malnourished. Edited to say, I thought you wrote 60 days instead of 40. Normally I would collect eggs for a week and then sit them under her at the same time to hatch. When they are broody, they only get off the nest for once or twice a day, and their body slows down to conserve energy. She has been doing that for way longer. Brody’s should be broken from a broody spell after a month, to get them back to good health. I hope that you can save her. Good luck. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[nuthatched]

Exhaustion and starvation, she's sat double the length of time she should have.
Get some poultry vitamins or baby vitamins without iron and mix them into raw egg yolks and some honey and syringe that, carefully.

 

[Eggcessive]

A cup of water with a tsp of sugar if you don’t have electrolytes will be helpful. Give us an update on her condition a bit later, and I hope that she makes it. Some broodies are just so determined and hormonal, it can be difficult to break them. I have had several would would go broody 2-3 times a summer, and would spend 5-7 days out in the broody breaking pen on the ground with a roost in a large pen. The a couple of weeks later, they would do it again.

 

[Molly194]

Take her aside and get her drinking electrolytes with vitamins, and fluids. Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell 2 ml orally per day plus fluids might give her a quick boost. Offer moistened chicken feed and scrambled egg. If she won’t drink or eat, you might tube feed her. She is mostly weak, or could be getting sick.

That is way too long to have let her sit on eggs, so she may be very malnourished. Edited to say, I thought you wrote 60 days instead of 40. Normally I would collect eggs for a week and then sit them under her at the same time to hatch. When they are broody, they only get off the nest for once or twice a day, and their body slows down to conserve energy. She has been doing that for way longer. Brody’s should be broken from a broody spell after a month, to get them back to good health. I hope that you can save her. Good luck. Let us know how she gets along.

Thank you we have syringe fed egg yolk and homemade electrolytes, she isn’t able to keep her head up. Hopefully the food and fluid picks her up, how long until
we should expect to see improvement?

 

[nuthatched]

It took 40 days to get like this, it's not going to improve quickly. Can you get vitamins anywhere?

Thank ou we have syringe fed egg yolk and homemade electrolytes, she isn’t able to keep her head up. Hopefully the food and fluid picks her up, how long until
we should expect to see improvement?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try offering fluids hourly as often as you can, letting her rest in between. Keep her in a quiet dim spot, and keep her warm. One thing that could also be happening to her, is the stress of being broody has allowed her body to succumb to an illness. Many times when chickens get sick, it is a time during a molt, extreme cold or heat, and after a broody spell. I really hope she starts to show some strength soon.