Broody chicken is getting sick! :(

[honda_DT]

Please help me, I don't know what to do about a broody chicken of mine that wont get off the nest. She has been in the coop, on a nest, even thought the door is open, for a little over a month now. Her comb is loosing color compared to the other chickens and she has a patch of feather's missing on the bottom that is starting to grow. She feels hotter that the other chickens. Please help everyone at my house is getting the idea that we need to kill her because they think she is "broken" or "sick".

 

[welasharon]

I imagine if it has been a little over a month the eggs would be rotten? Can you candle them to see? Does she have any other symptom than a pale comb and warm?

 

[honda_DT]

There are no eggs going be hatched and my other hens only use 1 nest box although we have others for them, so i take the eggs away every day. (we have to rooster so they are infertile eggs.)

 

[welasharon]

why not take her out of the nest box and close it up for the day or put her where she cannot get to it. You can search on here for how to break a broody hen. Also check her really well for mites or lice. THey can get that easily when broody.
sharon

 

[honda_DT]

Thanks sharon.

I'll try searching and if that doesn't work ill close the coop.

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

Broody hens loose the feathers on their bellies, it is natural. That way they can keep the eggs warmer, and they feel hot underneath after they lose their feathers. As far as the other two symptoms, they are probably from her sitting and not getting out in the sun and eating and drinking regularly. But don't think she is "broken". I've had hens sit for five or six weeks before I gave them eggs, and then they incubated them for the three additional weeks, raised the chicks and went back to their normal egg-laying.

If you aren't going to use her for hatching eggs, I would break her up. It is quite an ordeal for a hen to sit, she doesn't eat and drink as much and she gets skinny, so if you don't need her for everyone's sake break her up!

What I do is put them in a completely wire rabbit cage, or a solid bottomed cage flipped upside down, and set it up at least an inch, the higher the better. Give her food and water! Anyhow, this way the air flows underneath her, which she doesn't like, because in her mind she is taking care of real eggs.

Also it depends on the person - some people put them in the dark then, and some put them in light. I prefer light, it is the opposite of what she wants while setting. Not direct sunlight, you don't want to cook her, just not any dark corners. After a few days she should seem more normal, and eventually she can just go back with the rest.

Hope this helps! MW

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Our broody had a case of mites which nearly killed her. She had gone broody in an old basket, mites love wooden things. She was pale and weak.

Today, she's raising another brood and as healthy as ever. But we check for mites pretty often, haven't had to treat again since we replaced most of their coop wood with plastic amenities.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

i have heard of someone using a frozen bag of peas placed in a zip lock bag, placed it under her butt until it thawed or she finally got off the nest from being too cold. they take it out of the zip lock and refreeze it when it thaws that way they do not waste the bag even though it probably won't be eaten later.

i've had a hen go broody for a full 10 weeks and then finally hatch her first set of 3 chicks! it has been almost 4 weeks now and she is loving them! while she's being broody i made sure she has a water dish close to her since she was sitting on those eggs in 90-100 degree weather and i knew she wasn't willing to go very far from those eggs. i did give her treats of mealworms and kale to keep her healthy with the extra vitamins and protein since she had also started her 18 month molt towards the end.

the loss of feathers on the belly is normal like someone else said on here. it is to help keep the eggs close to the moma's warm skin and help retain the moisture she also gives off, similar to the reason using an incubator we have to keep it humid.