Advice on keeping a broody hen healthy

[Chicka_deee]

She might break broodiness if moved, that would be hard to know. I've only broken broody hens, so...
What I've observed by mine's behavior is they still want to go back to the exact same spot - so your gal may not accept being moved or the "new" nesting location - hence the previous posts suggestions of leaving her where she is.
I'm sure those that have years of experience dealing with broody hens can better advise on how that may/may not work if you tried to move her.

The Ivermectin will kill the lice that's on her, but there would be a possibility that you could transfer some when moving her and the eggs.

It would be a hard decision to make. If she is not well, there's a possibility she may not fair very well at all. If she seems a bit better, then I might be tempted to treat her where she is, give her a day or so of observation and see if she improves. I do have to wonder if there's something else going on with her. Was she in good shape, condition and laying eggs well before she became broody?

As for moving the eggs to an incubator - boy that's a tough one. Your chicken eggs are at day 10 (or so) they would definitely need turning, but with quail eggs on lock down, you wouldn't want to be opening the bator several times a day to turn.

I think the lice was the problem that was making her eye swollen, if that is possible and something that happens with lice? I have no experience with lice and mites
The swelling has gotten worse and her eye is almost fully shut.
now this hen in particular is the most determined hen I have every seen with anything
last year I wasn't the best with all this broody hen stuff and moved her a lot. And she still went through it! Although she may be different this year and if I move her I may mess it up, but I think it would be the best to move her. It’s going to be hard to clean her area so the new place will be better if it gets infected as well when I move her.
I didn’t get to defecting her today. we went to the store and tried to find Ivermectin. We will search again and I’ll apply It tomorrow.
if I move her should I put diatomaceous earth in the new place? I wonder because I’ve heard to put it into her feathers to kill the lice and around the coop to help. Is that a thing that works?

she was a good layer previous to going broody and was a healthy hen.

both eggs, quail and chicken are both on day 11. So quail eggs in the incubator will go onto lockdown in 3 days and the chicken eggs under the broody hen will go onto lockdown in 7 days (the time when the quail are hatching)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think the lice was the problem that was making her eye swollen, if that is possible and something that happens with lice? I have no experience with lice and mites
The swelling has gotten worse and her eye is almost fully shut.

if I move her should I put diatomaceous earth in the new place? I wonder because I’ve heard to put it into her feathers to kill the lice and around the coop to help. Is that a thing that works?

Lice are more of an irritation, while they may be the cause of some of the discharges, the eye swelling almost shut...that is worrisome. A heavy infestation could cause some problems, but I worry she may have more going on.
Do you notice more runny nose, any rattles/rales with her breathing? If possible another photo of her face would be good for comparison.

I would not use the DE. Imho, it's not effective, plus if you rubbed that all in her, you would be having to handle her even more.

Have you brought in any new birds within the last 30 days? What's the source of the eggs she's sitting on?

The suggestion that @centrarchid made about placing the quail eggs on a flat surface in the bator if you have an auto turn is a good one. Have you considered that? What type of incubator do you have?

 

[Chicka_deee]

Lice are more of an irritation, while they may be the cause of some of the discharges, the eye swelling almost shut...that is worrisome. A heavy infestation could cause some problems, but I worry she may have more going on.
Do you notice more runny nose, any rattles/rales with her breathing? If possible another photo of her face would be good for comparison.

I would not use the DE. Imho, it's not effective, plus if you rubbed that all in her, you would be having to handle her even more.

Have you brought in any new birds within the last 30 days? What's the source of the eggs she's sitting on?

The suggestion that @centrarchid made about placing the quail eggs on a flat surface in the bator if you have an auto turn is a good one. Have you considered that? What type of incubator do you have?

I haven’t noticed any rattles/rales in her breathing or broody growls/clucks. And no runny nose anymore.
im so sorry about replying with different/new information about her eye but it keeps changing. As I checked for a runny nose a minute ago her eye was better and not as swollen shut as the evening before.

should I put some DE around the coop to kill the extra lice after cleaning? But not on her and use the Iverson or what we can find for her body.

I have not brought in any new birds in the past few months. although half the eggs under her are from a local farm as the rest are from our flock.

As for the incubator I have a Little Giant Still Air 9300. I got it this March and it was my very first incubator. The quail eggs is my second time using it so I still haven’t purchased an egg turner or a fan yet but I’m planning on that. I’m hand turning the quail eggs right now. (11 quail eggs)

this photo was taken a week or two before she went broody.

 

[centrarchid]

I haven’t noticed any rattles/rales in her breathing or broody growls/clucks.

should I put some DE around the coop to kill the extra lice after cleaning? But not on her and use the Iverson or what we can find for her body.

I have not brought in any new birds in the past few months. although half the eggs under her are from a local farm as the rest are from our flock.

As for the incubator I have a Little Giant Still Air 9300. I got it this March and it was my very first incubator. The quail eggs is my second time using it so I still haven’t purchased an egg turner or a fan yet but I’m planning on that. I’m hand turning the quail eggs right now. (11 quail eggs)

View attachment 2122356
this photo was taken a week or two before she went broody.

She looks good in image above. Was her mother an American Dominique?


Hen below starting to show wear and tear of broody cycle as her weight drops from drawing off reserves compensating what she cannot consume in the 30 to 60 minutes off the nest each day.

 

[Chicka_deee]

She looks good in image above. Was her mother an American Dominique?


Hen below starting to show wear and tear of broody cycle as her weight drops from drawing off reserves compensating what she cannot consume in the 30 to 60 minutes off the nest each day.View attachment 2122367

I have no idea what she is or what her mother was. After some research the closest I found that might be her breed was a black Wyandotte, I may be wrong. Whatever breed lines she was produced by was probably good mothers and broodys because I have never seen a hen this determined with anything - especially broodyness.

 

[Chicka_deee]

Just went and got this. This would work right? It’s good for chickens

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would not use DE.
You can use the Scalex to treat lice. I would reapply in 7 day intervals.

I would not use the DE. Imho, it's not effective

 

[Zan]

OK, here's what I would do. I'd get the new coop ready and move her. Treat for lice while moving and treat the new coop and bedding as a preventative. Move her when it's fully dark with as little light as possible. She should stay on the nest with out any issues. Check her and treat again at 7 day intervals till lice are gone. Focus on the vent and belly area. The lice like the dampness of those areas.

I just moved my broody twice. Once out of the coop to protect her while we dealt with a bear problem, then back in now that the bear is taken care of. She was in a dog crate in my mud room for 4 days. No issues at all.