Broody but not eating

[rosemarysugar]

I've got a broody hen that's sitting on two eggs, on day five. She doesn't come out, so I take her out for a few minutes each evening and she runs like mad, dust bathes, pecks at the ground a bit, takes a little watery poo and back in she goes. I try to give her crumble but she just throws it around. There is food and water right by her in the box. She's losing weight and not pooping much. Can I give her nutridrench as a nutritional supplement? Is this normal? I'm new to this!

 

[puckpuck8]

Not sure, I have 2 young hens, one is doing the same thing too.
She's been hiding out in the nest box, she is also low chicken on the totem pole, getting chased and pecked by the older hens. Her buddy comes in to check on her.

 

[ChickNanny13]

That's the "problem" with broodies .... She's setting on eggs, so she won't leave. She may eat/drink but not enough. Nutri Drench is good, you could also try scrambled eggs, tuna, make a mash out of her feed, meal worms ...

I don't have a Roo so when/if my girls go broody, they go into Broody Jail. I had a Wyandotte that was very serious, she lost alot of weight before I realized what was going on. Took 5 days in Broody Jail to break her, she was good for awhile but went right back. So rehomed her to someone looking for a broody. She did good.

What breed?

 

[rosemarysugar]

That's the "problem" with broodies .... She's setting on eggs, so she won't leave. She may eat/drink but not enough. Nutri Drench is good, you could also try scrambled eggs, tuna, make a mash out of her feed, meal worms ...

I don't have a Roo so when/if my girls go broody, they go into Broody Jail. I had a Wyandotte that was very serious, she lost alot of weight before I realized what was going on. Took 5 days in Broody Jail to break her, she was good for awhile but went right back. So rehomed her to someone looking for a broody. She did good.

What breed?

She's a mix. Not sure of what!!

 

[NorthernMIFlock]

I have read that broody hens’ metabolism slows down a lot during those 21 days, and they need very little food or water. We hand fed our very dedicated broody buff Orpington on occasion during her 3 weeks of sitting, but mostly she just growled at us. We let her and nature take its course, and she hatched out 4, left the nest with them on day 2 and other than her comb getting a bit pale and dry, she looked great. She did seem ravenous for a couple days after hatch, but I didn’t notice any visible weight loss. Good luck!

 

[puckpuck8]

I am not sure if my new hen is broody or hiding because she is the lowest hen being pecked by the older hens, does it calm down eventually for the hen?

I had four original flock barred rock hens, now just two, have two middle barred rock hens and two new young hens - mixed they both have subdued colors similar to the rocks. The new hens are about about 6 months old. The older hens are about 5 years old.
The newer hen is a little darker in color that is getting picked on the most. For awhile the new hens got chased & the usual peaking. Now the low hen on the totem pole is spending time in the nesting box while young friend comes around to check on her. It has been close to 2 months the young hens were introduced to the flock.

There is plenty of room in the hen house, the dog kennel & the fenced in pen. Hoping the low hen pecking will subside soon. She does not eat much with the older hens chasing her. I stay with her so she can get some food and dust bath time before she goes hiding in the nest box. I have two nest boxes one inside the hen house & one in the dog kennel so the 6 hens have enough nest box to use. Thinking of making a separate feeding station for her. I had to do that for the middle hens when they were introduced to the flock.

Bringing the new hens into the coop at night didn't matter. It is during the day the old hens chase the new comers. Tried treats for the flock to relieve boredom it's just short term. I know I am not the only chicken who is experiencing the pecking order problem.