Broody hen’s earlobes are turning black

Lokale90

Chirping
Apr 18, 2020
66
41
83
My hen went broody, hatched some chicks & all she wants to do is sit on eggs. She’s lost quite a lot of weight, her comb is shriveled & I just noticed this morning her earlobes have a black patch on them. It also looks like the black is all around her eyes & down to her beak. I’m not sure if this is just dirt, but the earlobes don’t look to be. They actually look like the skin has turn black. What does this mean? I’ve been trying to get her out of the coop so she will eat/drink & she just runs back. I’ve been removing the eggs as soon as we find them. This morning I decided to take her out of the coop, put her in the smaller run & close the gate connecting it to the main run so that she can’t go back to nesting box. I’m afraid she’s going to end up killing herself from such malnourishment. She also started to peck at the food that was in there but only ate a little bit before just wanting to get out & head back
to coop. She also just keeps swiping her beak back & forth in the dirt. Between the black earlobes & only caring about sitting on the eggs, I don’t know what to do. Help please!
 

Attachments

  • 1AF49DB7-A2F3-4256-893A-C154FE6E5EE2.jpeg
    1AF49DB7-A2F3-4256-893A-C154FE6E5EE2.jpeg
    583.4 KB · Views: 29
  • D949698A-0DD2-4B57-9BA9-ACDDA5D96DD0.jpeg
    D949698A-0DD2-4B57-9BA9-ACDDA5D96DD0.jpeg
    644.6 KB · Views: 14
  • F3A0120F-A826-45B0-84BC-992ADF82D41B.jpeg
    F3A0120F-A826-45B0-84BC-992ADF82D41B.jpeg
    571 KB · Views: 12
You said she hatched chicks. Did she raise them? How old are they? If she no longer has chicks and you don't want her to sit, then you will need to break her broodiness. Some hens will go broody multiple times a year, some will rarely or never. Best way to break them is in a wire crate in the run, raised up on boards or blocks so air can circulate all around her. No bedding or nesting material at all. Give her food and water in the crate. She stays there until she's no longer broody. How long depends on the bird, can be a couple days to a week if she's stubborn. If you let her out and she continues the broody behavior then she needs to go back in longer. I don't think the black on the earlobes is anything to worry about, it may just be skin pigment. Once she's no longer broody she should go back to normal eating and drinking and behavior. Some examples of broody breakers below.
Broody1.jpg

broody-hen-a-cage.jpg
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom