Broody Hen taking it too far. Help

mssmartypantsxx

In the Brooder
6 Years
Nov 6, 2013
27
3
34
New Zealand
Help, my broody hen is really sick!

My beautiful brood is very pale, she won't move. she has bad diarrhea and at night she looks like she can't breathe. I can get her to have a few sips of water but that's it. She'll hold in her poop but she'll just release on her nest. She's been like this for a day but has been brooding for 8 almost 9 days.

She's awake and very sick at this moment and it's 11.00pm. I would say if she gets any worse we might have to take her to a vet.

She had 9 eggs but accidentally broke one and ate it. Yuck :/ the chick was the right size for it's age.

Her poop is bright green :(
 
Sick hen with diarrhea treatment plan.

  • Move hen to quarantine.
  • Hand feed and give electrolytes asap.
  • Consider roll out nest tray to stop egg eating. (future egg eating that could result)
  • Take to vet if gets worse.


The electrolytes and food should help with the diarrhea and dehydration. Unfortunately, to save the hen and eggs, you may have to break the brooding and move the eggs to an incubator. I assume quarantine is in a comfortable area to help with stress and probably already there because of brooding. If you can, take hen to vet if it gets worse.

They typically don't eat much though and may act a little strange. The only 2 things I worry about is the egg eating and the diarrhea. Hens do change a little when brooding but on the safe side....

What feed is she on?

How long has this been going on?

What amount/texture are we calling diarrhea?

Can you give pictures of chicken poop (graphic I know but it is the worlds best description) and hen?


The egg eating has the potential to kill off all your eggs as she might cannibalize them. Another option is if you are able to treat her while being broody....

Egg eating treatment plan
  • incubate eggs till day 20ish in incubator
  • have her sit on golf balls/fake eggs till day 20 (replace them when she sleeps)
  • place eggs as they are about to hatch under her
 
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It's very watery, could fill a cup. After that she'll Stan and heave for about 20-30 minutes then a runny green poop will come out. Like blended avacado. She was eating wheat and bread before, now the only thing she will eat is scrambled egg.
 
It's very watery, could fill a cup. After that she'll Stan and heave for about 20-30 minutes then a runny green poop will come out. Like blended avacado. She was eating wheat and bread before, now the only thing she will eat is scrambled egg.
Were you only feeding her wheat and bread before she got sick? The reason I asked is because this diet is nothing but wheat and more wheat, an unhealthy diet for any hen.
 
Are you feeding her grower feed?

Since she's brooding she doesn't need layer feed because the calcium is too high and she's not laying eggs. It could be a protein problem. The scramble egg has a lot of protein. You may have to hand feed her because of her work ethic.

Chickens do change during brooding and I have heard of chickens having gross poop and becoming a little paler due to brooding. So, I'm trying to be very cautious about jumping on the disease train.

If you could give picture of the hen that would help


I'm trying to look through all my resources I apologize for the delay


I agree with previous post in it could be malnutrition.
 
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