Akk! Chicken Emergency!

[emily]

My Barred Rock hen has been sitting in her nesting box for two days straight! I put water, plain yogurt, and food infront of her. I even forced her to eat some garlic because I heard that can help them. I don't know what else to do- when i picked her up, all of her feathers on her belly were gone. Please help! This is my last hope

thank you

 

[hencackle]

I think your hen is broody. When you reached into the nest box to pick her up, did her feathers stand up, did she growl?

A broody hen plucks out belly feathers so that the exposed skin is in direct contact with the eggs. She will show little interest in food and water; only leaving the nest once a day to poop and dust bathe. The size of that one poop will be huge and smell to high heaven!

Stephanie

 

[mudhen]

I agree, it sounds like she is broody. Has she been laying?
Do you have fertilized eggs you want to hatch?

 

[emily]

no, i don't have a rooster- When will she get off the nest?

 

[hencackle]

It varies....one of my broody hens gave up after one week while another one was broody for a little over a month.
Stephanie

 

[allen wranch]

I agree, it sounds like she is broody.

It will not hurt her to sit as she will come out to poop, drink and eat a couple of times a day. If you don't want her to sit, which makes sense if you have no fertile eggs to hatch, you can try several things to make her stop.

The most drastic, which I don't recommend, it to put her in a cage with a wire bottom and no place to hunker down and get comfortable. You can also pick her up each time you go to the coop and put her out of the box. Place her in a location away from the box.

Some hens are just determined, and you have to wait it out with them. After 3-4 weeks and no little peeps, they get the hint.

Good luck !

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I've got a Buff Orpington and a Delaware that are both broody. Driving me (and the other hens) crazy.

I take them off the nest every chance I get, but I think I may be moving to something more drastic as I can't let egg production drop by 30%

 

[allen wranch]

I had a broody that I was letting sit on eggs. I moved her and the eggs to a private pen so the babies could hatch, and she wouldn't stay on the nest ! She kept pacing to get back to "her" nest box. Not saying it will work with your birds, but it is worth a try.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Good suggestion. I may just lock the two of them into the run (with food / water but no nesting box) and see if that helps.