Broody Hen Thread!

[the poppster]

If she is one of the alpha girls, her behavior would concern me even more...are her feathers fluffed up? Are her eyes open and bright? Does she react to you entering the coop...a healthy hen will usually stand and watch you...and if you reach out towards her she will most likely move away or with a bolder friendly girl, she might check out your hand for possible treats...no reaction would set off alarms in my mind...I would do just what Barbara suggested. Do a physical examination of her, feathers can hide what only a hands on check can reveal...if you gently examine what her body is like under her feathers...especially feeling for her breast bone or keel bone...check her crop,the little walnut sized pouch that collects food and adds digestive juices to the food to start the digestive process...if it's empty? And you have fed the birds just a while ago...it's a sure indication that she isn't eating...if it's firm and full she is probably eating...after a while of owning birds you will be able to see if the crop is full just by looking at the bird when full it shows!.... If the crop is soft and squishy she might have a sour crop...it could be impacted...if it seems full, check again in a couple hours to be sure that it is emptying...I believe that there is a section on this site that applies to digestive problems. I believe that a hands on approach to keeping chickens is the best way...you have to know how healthy bird looks and feels to do the best job of keeping them...for your good and theirs.

 

[fisherlady]

I'm wondering if I have a broody hen. She hasn't started laying yet, but she isn't leaving the coop. She just sits on her roost all day. Large green poop, but she's may have been eating the beets I put out for them all. She seems fine otherwise. What do you all suppose is up?

The other posters have already covered many possible reasons for her behavior, but I will add one more...make sure she isn't being bullied or harassed by other flock members. In particular I have seen it with young pullets who are being accosted frequently by over aggressive roosters (frequently young cockerels do this in their over excitement). They hide on roosts or other safe places, often even avoiding feeders and waterers since the aggressors seem to prefer these as ambush points. See if she is interested in food by offering some scrambled eggs or similarly healthy treat.

 

[speak1074]

She's the oldest of the bunch and she's a copper maran. The only rooster we have is a serama who is roughly 6 inches tall, lol. Would he still be causing this? I watched a YouTube video where a serama rooster got his little butt stomped by full sized chickens when he tried to wrangle a silkie...

 

[fisherlady]

She's the oldest of the bunch and she's a copper maran. The only rooster we have is a serama who is roughly 6 inches tall, lol. Would he still be causing this? I watched a YouTube video where a serama rooster got his little butt stomped by full sized chickens when he tried to wrangle a silkie...

Not likely, so I would be concerned that this is about illness or injury, not broodiness...sorry, but I would be looking for a problem given the situation.

 

[the poppster]

Have you picked her up and checked her over yet? "speak1074" When I mentioned the breast bone (keel) bone, if it is very prominent, she is definitely losing weight...if you catch her, you will be able to examine her in good light to...is her comb pale? Or a nice bright red? Does she disagree with being handled? Or just give in without any fussing? Is her crop full or empty? Check it out and let us know what you find...it would make it easier for us to help you, if we knew more about her physical shape.

 

[speak1074]

Her comb does seem a little paler to me, but overall, after checking her thoroughly from head to toe, she seems fine. She is used to being held and will generally put up a small fight, which she is still doing. But she is relatively docile and will almost always let us hold her anyway. Today she is out and about, she ran out the door when I opened it just like normal. I saw her eating this morning and I fed her a good deal of live

mealworms. Her poop is still oddly green, but it's not neon green like it is all of the comments. I really don't know what to think.

 

[the poppster]

Good to know she is behaving more like herself!! I looked it up in my "Chicken Health Handbook" by Gail Damerow...and other then lead poisoning...yellow/green loose poop can be caused by "Sour Crop"....she may have had a case of it and it cleared up on its own...according to the book it can be a common cause...I love books...so I'm surrounded with them...books on all the subjects I enjoy...silly old lady that I am...I don't really enjoy e-books...love the smell of a new book, real paper pages, to flip through...just can't get used to computer books.

 

[Jenneh85]

Okay I lost the thread I was on yesterday, sorry if I am repeating myself but I need to get this resolved.

I have had a buff orpington go broody now off and on for almost a year, I was also experiencing a mysterious egg eater. I finally found out who the egg eater was and sadly it was BUFF the Buff Orpington. SO I took her completely out of the flock and into a dog kennel onto my patio with food and water and would like to get some information on what to do as this is a REOCCURRING ISSUE!

She is one of my first chickens I bought along with Egglington the 200$ chicken.....dont ask LOL

So I cannot kill her, should I just sell her ? Since I read that once a hen tastes eggs she will continue to eat her own egg or sabotage the rest of the eggs in the flock let alone probably teaching someone else that eggs are tasty?

 

[rebrascora]

@Jenneh85

Sorry to hear you have an egg eater. The only time I have had a problem with it was when I had a hen laying very thin shelled eggs and I am pretty certain that they were getting accidentally broken and then eaten. I would often find several good eggs in the nest box coated in egg and the nesting material soggy but no trace of the egg shell and the majority of the egg had obviously been eaten. It never became a problem with the other eggs being eaten but it was a pain to have to scrub the soiled eggs and change the nesting material every day. I wonder if that may be the problem with your hen. I have also recently experienced a problem with rats eating eggs and have read that that can be quite common in winter, so perhaps that is something else to rule out before you blame your hen. It is not unreasonable for a hen to clean up a broken egg and does not make her an egg eater in my opinion.

You might also consider their diet as egg eating can be an indication that they are low in protein. Lack of space and boredom can also lead to egg eating, so that is worth reviewing too, particularly at this time of year when the weather can restrict outside access.

If she is a real egg eater and actively and deliberately breaks open eggs to eat them, then role away nest boxes are the answer. I recently saw a simple system on you tube using paint trays to make them which I will try to find and post a link.
I think it is unreasonable to sell an old hen that is an egg eater to someone else unless you give full disclosure and you probably need to accept that anyone taking her on would probably cull and eat her.

As regards the broodiness, she is a breed that has a tendency to be broody and once she has experienced it, the likelihood is that it will reoccur. It could even be frustration at not being able to fulfil her broody urge that has lead her to become an egg eater. Hormones can do funny things to any animal but us females are sometimes particularly at their whim.

Good luck with her whatever you decide.

Regards

Barbara

Edited to add the link to you tube video showing how to make roll away nest box adaptation with paint trays

 

[redsix]

Here are a couple suggestions. The eggs could be thin shelled and getting broken, or at least that may have gotten her started eating them. Put some crushed oyster shells in your feed to make sure the egg shells are not too thin. I feed fermented feed an throw a little bit of oyster shells in when I mix the feed. My chickens have access to a pan of oyster shells, but they just don't eat enough of it. I have thin shelled egg problems, if I don't add crushed shells to the feed even though the feed has around 4% calcium..

Also, buy some nest eggs, if you don't already have some. Put a few in some of the nests and a few on the floor. Tractor Supply sells ceramic nest eggs that look like the real thing. The hen may get tired of trying open the ceramic ones and pecking eggs all together.