Broody Banty ?

[kinsey228]

I collected eggs this morning, and noticed my Wyandotte banty has no feathers on her belly. Is she going broody ? Is there a way to stop her from being broody ? I live in Maine, and it is getting quite cold already, so she needs all of her feathers. Should I just leave her alone ? Any advice will be appreciated !

 

[kinsey228]

Any ideas ?

 

[kinsey228]

No one ?

 

[jeslewmazer]

Separate her from eggs and all nesting materials.

 

[kinsey228]

Ok. Should she be by herself or w/ another chicken ?

 

[elmo]

Missing feathers alone are more likely to be molting than going broody. Hens will sometimes pluck out some breast feathers when they brood, although none of ours does this. The way you can tell if you have a broody is by observing her behavior: does she stay in the nestbox all day and night? does she puff up and hiss if you approach her? Those are signs of being broody.

In my flock, I can tell the difference between a hen who is sitting in the nestbox to lay and one who is going broody just by observing how they sit. A broody hen sort of spreads herself out flatter than one who is laying.

Sometimes you can discourage a hen from being broody simply by removing her from the nest repeatedly. Some hens need to have the nesting materials taken away completely for a few days before they give up. Others won't give up no matter what you do and only stop after a full 21 days or so.

If your hen is molting, you can offer her extra protein to help her grow back her feathers quickly.

 

[kinsey228]

Quote:
Thank you for your responses. She is only 6 months, so I think she is probably broody. Yeah, she never leaves "her" nesting box, and she pecks at everything that moves. She is usually a very sweet little thing. I just want to make sure that, even though the coop is insulated, she won't get too cold this winter.

 

[jeslewmazer]

Pullets/hens don't have to be laying to go broody. Some hens try to stay broody, some are not supposed to go broody but do, others are seasonal broody. There are different "levels" of broody. I have always separated the broody completely from the flock, as they will try to take another nest most of the time. There are many methods that you could try and great post on here as well. But just to touch on the subject. Some methods might have to be repeated. 1-Giving her a cool (not cold) bath on her belly, allowing her to dry inside if the weather conditions are unfavorable (like winter weather), but in warmer weather (like summer) she can stay outside through the whole process. 2- give her a baby aspirin. 3- Separate her from any possible areas of nesting. 4- physically remover her from the nest as many times as possible, but she will probably try to continue to get back on the nest. I know there are other way as well, but that is just off the top of my head. Hope it helps.

 

[fuzziecreatures]

My broody bantam, Cinnamon. She doesn't have any eggs, and I pulled out her nest

 

[jeslewmazer]

Quote:
But she still has "her box", therefore she still has "her nest".

She is so cute.