Broody-like behavior but not broody?

[AlitaB]

I haven a 3 yr old Barred rock who has been acting strange for s few weeks. She won't come out of her box at all unless prompted. She sits in there all fluffed up like she's broody. When I do kick her out, she runs around frantically, scratching at the oyster shell, then maybe eating & drinking a little before clucking around, picking at herself and eventually taking a dust bath. It's not long before she's back in her box again, but she's not laying on any eggs. I also do not think she's laying any eggs. We've had a few soft shell eggs lately, so I'm wondering if they are hers. Maybe she's menopausal? Are there any other possibilities? We have11 chickens and the rest of them seem fine!

 

[silkiecuddles]

I have had broodies that are broody on no eggs. I'd either give her eggs, or kick her out of the box to break her. Because unless you want chicks, you're missing your daily egg.

 

[AlitaB]

So you think she's just broody? She's been broody before and it never lasted this long, or was accompanied by as strange as behavior as this.

 

[silkiecuddles]

She could very possibly broody. I had a brahma who sat in the nest box all day every day, getting up to eat, poop, drink. I've had hens broody for months on nothing. You should break her or give her eggs

 

[aart]

Yep, she's broody...agrees, give her fertile eggs or break her.

 

[AlitaB]

Ok, thanks! We don't have fertile eggs so I will try harder to break her. So, do chickens not act any different when they stop laying?

 

[aart]

Old hens that stop laying don't usually act any different...... except for the not laying part.


My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop and I would feed her some crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two.

Nipple water bottle added after pic was taken: