Broody, or something else...?

[Bantamtam]

Hello BYC!

My little grey bantam had a case of sinusitis which took a while to shift - I'm not entirely sure she's over it. She was back to her old self for a bit, but for the last two months has been exceptionally 'broody' - I say 'broody' because I'm not sure that's what it is. I reckon it might be broodiness because she lays in her nesting box, and doesn't lay (or does so very, very occasionally), but it's been going on for so long that I'm unsure. I locked up the nesting box, and rather than sleeping on the perch with the others, she lay down on the ground underneath them. We lift her out every morning, and after a moment or two of just laying on the ground, she sprints off and is as happy as Larry. She is, however, very desperate to get back inside, and the minute the door opens, she is back in the nesting box. There have been a few moments when we set her outside in the morning and it takes her several minutes to get to her feet - at one point I did fear that she was paralysed, but she did take off at some speed. So, BYC, my question is, do you think she is exceptionally broody, or could something else be going on?

Thanks!

 

[Poultry parent]

She's probably broody. You should either give her eggs to hatch, or break her brood. A broody hen can lose up to 20% of their body weight, so it's not good for them to be broody for long periods of time

 

[Dianes Divas]

My RIR stopped laying over month ago. She is only 11 months old and now she is sitting on the others egg when they lay it. I am new at this and not sure what her problem is. I go out and shoo her off and collect the eggs as soon as they are laid by my other two who lay.

 

[azygous]

If you do nothing to lower the broody's body temperature, especially if the weather is very warm, a broody spell can be indefinitely extended.

It's not good for a hen's body to let this go on longer than the three weeks it normally takes to incubate eggs. It's a waste of a hen's resources and reserves.

If you choose not to let a hen sit on eggs, you need to confine a broody hen to an open-mesh bottom cage where air can circulate freely under her in order to lower her temperature, thus interrupting the production of broody hormones.

If the weather is pushing 100F or above, you may need a cooling fan or to wet the broody's belly feathers so evaporation can assist in cooling her down. There really is no other good way to break up the broody hormones.

 

[aart]

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.

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.

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) 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.
Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken.

 

[zoelov]

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.

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.

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) 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.
Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken.

 

[Bantamtam]

Dear all,

Thank you for your replies and your advice! Fingers crossed, she seems to be snapping out of the broodiness. I've been using the cold water method, sitting in her in a small tub of cold water for a minute in the morning, locking her out, and giving her another minute in the evening. Today I left the coop open, and she has stayed outside!

 

[zoelov]

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.

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.

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) 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.
Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken.

 

[zoelov]

My Americauna hen went broody and with the temps hovering around 95 in the coop, I was worried about her. I took this advice and used the wire kennel method and after one night in the open 75 degree air just outside the coop, but in the enclosed run, she was "cured". She is back to roosting at night and running around the pen all day. Thanks for all the advice.