Hens go broody when you don’t want them to… and won’t go broody when you do. 
I just wanted to share a bit. This seems like the appropriate place. Bear with me.
3 years ago I decided that I wanted to raise chickens as a backyard pet and for those beautiful, cruelty free eggs. This began a journey. I informed my husband that for my birthday I wanted him to build me a chicken coop. He agreed (to my surprise, without much if any, complaints). So it was off to Tractor Supply with my 3 children and one of their friends. We picked out 4 black and 3 yellow "assorted pullets" that had just come in. The 4 black ones turned out to be roosters and had to be rehomed to 2 different families that would take roosters and not eat them.
My sweet Faith was one of the yellow babies. She turned out to be a white Leghorn and the best chicken you could ever imagine. Many people describe Leghorns as flighty but Faith was anything but. I called her my dog-chicken. Whenever I entered the chicken pen, if I didn't pay attention to her she would peck behind my knees to get her love. I would hold her and stroke her beautiful extra large, floppy comb. She would sit in my lap for 15 to 20 minutes soaking up the attention. I have never known another like her and I know I probably never will. She was one of a kind.
My birthday was September 21st. I went out in the morning to check on and feed the girls like I always do. To my horror, there was poor Faith in the nest box with an egg stuck and a visible prolapse. She was struggling and in pain. I immediately panicked. I ran in the house and got a bowl of warm water to soak her in. It didn't do any good. I got a towel and wrapped her in it. Into the house we went and into a warm bathtub. Still no budging on the egg. Finally, I broke the egg and was able to get it all out. She immediately laid a softshell egg behind that one. She was exhausted and so was I. Her body was not normal and I knew that she would have to return to normal or she wouldn't survive. When I tried to push her innards back in, she pushed it back out.
I wrapped her in my bath towel as she was now soaking wet. Into the living room we went where she slept for 2 1/2 hours on my chest. My poor baby. All I could do was tell her that I was so sorry this had happened to her. I tried calling local vets earlier to no avail--they wouldn't see a chicken. I did get advice from a vet that rescues chickens.
When my family returned home to help me ( I was alone as all of this was going on) I put her in a doghouse in my half bathroom after putting preparation H on her protruding organs. I put a heating pad under 2 layers of towels. She was given a dish of food and bowl of water. This was Saturday.
Every day I took her out, syringe fed her water and yogurt. I cleaned her bottom and medicated it. It didn't look any better.
On Wednesday morning I went to care for her and my beautiful girl had passed away. I was and still am heartbroken. She was the best and she didn't deserve that. I will miss her each and every time I go out to care for the others. The heart and soul of my flock has died.
This picture is a photo that my oldest daughter took of my beautiful girl Faith. She framed it for me for my birthday and now I have a way to look into her sweet face even though she can't peck behind my knees for attention anymore.
Thanks for reading. I just felt like I needed to get this out to people who might understand.
In Honor of Faith, the most excellent chicken ever!
3 years ago I decided that I wanted to raise chickens as a backyard pet and for those beautiful, cruelty free eggs. This began a journey. I informed my husband that for my birthday I wanted him to build me a chicken coop. He agreed (to my surprise, without much if any, complaints). So it was off to Tractor Supply with my 3 children and one of their friends. We picked out 4 black and 3 yellow "assorted pullets" that had just come in. The 4 black ones turned out to be roosters and had to be rehomed to 2 different families that would take roosters and not eat them.
My sweet Faith was one of the yellow babies. She turned out to be a white Leghorn and the best chicken you could ever imagine. Many people describe Leghorns as flighty but Faith was anything but. I called her my dog-chicken. Whenever I entered the chicken pen, if I didn't pay attention to her she would peck behind my knees to get her love. I would hold her and stroke her beautiful extra large, floppy comb. She would sit in my lap for 15 to 20 minutes soaking up the attention. I have never known another like her and I know I probably never will. She was one of a kind.
My birthday was September 21st. I went out in the morning to check on and feed the girls like I always do. To my horror, there was poor Faith in the nest box with an egg stuck and a visible prolapse. She was struggling and in pain. I immediately panicked. I ran in the house and got a bowl of warm water to soak her in. It didn't do any good. I got a towel and wrapped her in it. Into the house we went and into a warm bathtub. Still no budging on the egg. Finally, I broke the egg and was able to get it all out. She immediately laid a softshell egg behind that one. She was exhausted and so was I. Her body was not normal and I knew that she would have to return to normal or she wouldn't survive. When I tried to push her innards back in, she pushed it back out.
I wrapped her in my bath towel as she was now soaking wet. Into the living room we went where she slept for 2 1/2 hours on my chest. My poor baby. All I could do was tell her that I was so sorry this had happened to her. I tried calling local vets earlier to no avail--they wouldn't see a chicken. I did get advice from a vet that rescues chickens.
When my family returned home to help me ( I was alone as all of this was going on) I put her in a doghouse in my half bathroom after putting preparation H on her protruding organs. I put a heating pad under 2 layers of towels. She was given a dish of food and bowl of water. This was Saturday.
Every day I took her out, syringe fed her water and yogurt. I cleaned her bottom and medicated it. It didn't look any better.
On Wednesday morning I went to care for her and my beautiful girl had passed away. I was and still am heartbroken. She was the best and she didn't deserve that. I will miss her each and every time I go out to care for the others. The heart and soul of my flock has died.
This picture is a photo that my oldest daughter took of my beautiful girl Faith. She framed it for me for my birthday and now I have a way to look into her sweet face even though she can't peck behind my knees for attention anymore.
Thanks for reading. I just felt like I needed to get this out to people who might understand.
In Honor of Faith, the most excellent chicken ever!
