Broody or Sick

[phryan]

I have a year old Barred Rock that I'm questing if she is sick or broody. She is spending most if not all her time in 1 nest box, but if I take her out she will get a bite and water, which seems broody. Most broodies I've had (3) will hoard any egg in the nest box, if I pulled one out from under her she would instantly pull it back under. This one though I will find with a few eggs under her and some others scattered about. The area below her vent is bare, its kinda red, squishy like a water balloon. Looked this up on the forums and found lots of similar cases but no definites. I just had a barred rock finish her 21 day sit and she had a bare bottom but was still fluffy below the vent. She is walking normal, will fly up to the lower roost and up to the nest boxes, not the upright walk of an egg-bound hen I had in the past. I don't know if she is laying, too many hens to keep track.

Gave her a warm bath/soak, didn't see any mites/lice.

Am I being to cautious and she's just a picky broody or is she sick (egg-bound, internal lay)? Any diagnostic steps I can take?

 

[GitaBooks]

Sounds like you are taking wonderful care of your chicken!

If she is roosting at night she is either a very confused broody or not broody. If she sleeps in the nest box she is probably broody.

Hope this helps! Best of luck!

 

[phryan]

Thanks for the reply. Today I checked on her, she looked like a normal broody in her nest box. However when I checked underneath there were no eggs. The half dozen in the box were along the outside. I picked her up and took her outside, she walked normal and did the normal broody off the nest things then went back to the nest. So I'm thinking a really confused hen...