Broody? or something worse?

[danalw]

Hello everyone, I am seeking some advice.
So I have a hen that has been sitting in her den box on all the other ladies eggs. She is loosing weight she has not laid an egg in over a month. If i lift her out of the box she will go scratch around and eat and drink for a bit but she gets right back in after a few moments.
I thought she was egg bound but she is not bloated, lethargic or showing any other symptoms.
I have tried everything I know/ everything that has worked to stop other ladies from brooding perviously but I just cant get her to stop. I have upped her calcium.
Any suggestions? Should I stick my finger up there? Isolate her? Get a fertilized egg from a friend? I really don't know what o do for her but I'm worried.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does she flatten out like a pancake, growl, screech and carry on?

Sounds like she could be broody, but if you aren't wanting her to hatch for you, the it would be best to break her. You mention she is losing weight, so that's what I would do.

Can you cage her in the coop/run? Look at the following article - see how Aart has the cage elevated off the floor with blocks and no bedding? The idea is circulate air under them/lower their body temperature (please don't dunk her in water).
Block her from the nesting boxes.
Try to encourage her to eat/drink. It would be a good idea to check her for lice/mites too since broodies sometimes get those (they don't take care of preening/dust bathing). I would also check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.

If you have photos you would like to share, those are always welcome.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/

 

[Kathy Golla]

Definitely sounds broody. Spending all her time in the next box sitting on others’ eggs, Growling and screeching and flattened like a pancake in the nest box are telltale broody. Sounds like the methods you’ve used to break broodys before aren’t working here.
If you have no plans for her to sit on and hatch fertilized eggs and raise chicks, it’s generally very bad for her all around health to be broody.
It’s quite simple to break a broody using aarts cage method. There’s a ton of info about it on the board if you search “broody.”
The faster you break her after she becomes broody, the shorter amount of time it will take to break her.

 

[Shezadandy]

If you're convinced she's broody and she's been on the nest for around 3 weeks, you could find her a couple of baby chicks (farm stores have them this time of year) to adopt. It comes down to whether she's broody- how long she's been sitting - and whether you're willing to have a broody mama and chicks. If you don't intend to have her raise chicks, breaking her ASAP is very important to her health. Usually eggs would hatch in 19-21 days- so slipping a couple babies in on what would be her 19th-21st day in the nest will get her up and moving around to show the kids what life is all about. You can try fertilized eggs- but they will take 19-21 days … another 19-21 days of not eating much.

 

[danalw]

If you're convinced she's broody and she's been on the nest for around 3 weeks, you could find her a couple of baby chicks (farm stores have them this time of year) to adopt. It comes down to whether she's broody- how long she's been sitting - and whether you're willing to have a broody mama and chicks. If you don't intend to have her raise chicks, breaking her ASAP is very important to her health. Usually eggs would hatch in 19-21 days- so slipping a couple babies in on what would be her 19th-21st day in the nest will get her up and moving around to show the kids what life is all about. You can try fertilized eggs- but they will take 19-21 days … another 19-21 days of not eating much.

I will get chicks asap. Any tips or tricks on making sure it sticks and she doesn't murder them?

 

[danalw]

Does she flatten out like a pancake, growl, screech and carry on?

Sounds like she could be broody, but if you aren't wanting her to hatch for you, the it would be best to break her. You mention she is losing weight, so that's what I would do.

Can you cage her in the coop/run? Look at the following article - see how Aart has the cage elevated off the floor with blocks and no bedding? The idea is circulate air under them/lower their body temperature (please don't dunk her in water).
Block her from the nesting boxes.
Try to encourage her to eat/drink. It would be a good idea to check her for lice/mites too since broodies sometimes get those (they don't take care of preening/dust bathing). I would also check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.

If you have photos you would like to share, those are always welcome.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/

You cant really see anything in a photo. She is straight chilling. She doesn't get mad at me when I move her. I kick her out to clean up and so she will eat and she's fine with it. Every other chick I had that went broody had attitude about it but she's just like"this is what I'm doing deal with it." I think I am going to go with the putting chicks under her and see if that takes.
I have never had a Maran before. I usually just get random chickens from the feed store. But she came to me from someone displaced by the camp fire. She is barely a year old. I am learning that Marans are setters. I'm used to beefy chickens that chase my 70 pound dog around but this one seems temperamental and delicate. She even cuddles when I sit on the porch.

 

[Shezadandy]

I will get chicks asap. Any tips or tricks on making sure it sticks and she doesn't murder them?

First thing- secure the nest so the chicks can't escape or fall out. I usually put my broodies in a crate for the last couple days and bring them in, but not all hens will tolerate the change in scenery - though once they have their little family, they're much better about accepting new spaces. If she'll accept a crate, that's a good way to have her close so you can monitor her with the babies.

Look for the youngest possible chicks available. The younger they are, the more apt they are to listen to momma hen. After I come home with chicks, I usually set the chicks up within earshot of momma hen with food/water/heat to mimic what she would hear if the eggs were fertile and going to hatch- the hen and chick do a lot of talking back and forth while they hatch. Then after a day and/or afternoon of that, I wait til night time to put the chicks under.

Doing the introduction at night can be very helpful- I do one at a time, especially if I'm unsure of the hen. It sounds like she's pretty chill- make sure when you go to put the chick under her, guard that chick with your hand just in case she pecks as you go to put baby under her so the chick doesn't get pecked. I put them all the way under and stay close by- if they had hatched under her, she would feel/hear them before she ever sees them. I like to wait until I hear her talking to them.

This is where having them in a crate is really convenient- you can hear/see what's happening if you keep them close in the house. Chicks standing in a corner with their backs turned to her are a surefire way to see they've been rejected- usually you'll hear terrified noises before you find them trying to hide if they've been rejected- they're trying to keep from getting pecked more. Even if things seem good I still like to have them in hearing distance overnight that first night so if she changes her mind, you can rescue them quickly before anything bad happens.

Acceptance is happy sounds - and when you add food (like the next morning) an invitation to eat with tid-bitting. Remember to get actual chick starter or all-flock. The chicks will eat whatever momma tells them to- even if it's layer feed- which is way too high in calcium for babies and can lead to organ failure. So if they're to stay with the flock (after a week or so in seclusion, see below) - just switch your flock to all-flock or chick starter, making sure to add oyster shells so the layers still get their calcium rations.

 

[Kathy Golla]

First thing- secure the nest so the chicks can't escape or fall out. I usually put my broodies in a crate for the last couple days and bring them in, but not all hens will tolerate the change in scenery - though once they have their little family, they're much better about accepting new spaces. If she'll accept a crate, that's a good way to have her close so you can monitor her with the babies.

Look for the youngest possible chicks available. The younger they are, the more apt they are to listen to momma hen. After I come home with chicks, I usually set the chicks up within earshot of momma hen with food/water/heat to mimic what she would hear if the eggs were fertile and going to hatch- the hen and chick do a lot of talking back and forth while they hatch. Then after a day and/or afternoon of that, I wait til night time to put the chicks under.

Doing the introduction at night can be very helpful- I do one at a time, especially if I'm unsure of the hen. It sounds like she's pretty chill- make sure when you go to put the chick under her, guard that chick with your hand just in case she pecks as you go to put baby under her so the chick doesn't get pecked. I put them all the way under and stay close by- if they had hatched under her, she would feel/hear them before she ever sees them. I like to wait until I hear her talking to them.

This is where having them in a crate is really convenient- you can hear/see what's happening if you keep them close in the house. Chicks standing in a corner with their backs turned to her are a surefire way to see they've been rejected- usually you'll hear terrified noises before you find them trying to hide if they've been rejected- they're trying to keep from getting pecked more. Even if things seem good I still like to have them in hearing distance overnight that first night so if she changes her mind, you can rescue them quickly before anything bad happens.

Acceptance is happy sounds - and when you add food (like the next morning) an invitation to eat with tid-bitting. Remember to get actual chick starter or all-flock. The chicks will eat whatever momma tells them to- even if it's layer feed- which is way too high in calcium for babies and can lead to organ failure. So if they're to stay with the flock (after a week or so in seclusion, see below) - just switch your flock to all-flock or chick starter, making sure to add oyster shells so the layers still get their calcium rations.

Wow that is some amazing knowledge!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You cant really see anything in a photo. She is straight chilling. She doesn't get mad at me when I move her. I kick her out to clean up and so she will eat and she's fine with it. Every other chick I had that went broody had attitude about it but she's just like"this is what I'm doing deal with it." I think I am going to go with the putting chicks under her and see if that takes.
I have never had a Maran before. I usually just get random chickens from the feed store. But she came to me from someone displaced by the camp fire. She is barely a year old. I am learning that Marans are setters. I'm used to beefy chickens that chase my 70 pound dog around but this one seems temperamental and delicate. She even cuddles when I sit on the porch.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Eggcessive]

I also have slipped chicks under a broody with success. A hen only hatched one chick, so I ran to the feed store and bought 6 day old chicks. I left them in a dog crate inside the coop and slipped them under, and she snuggled each one. I stayed and watched until I was sure that she would not harm them. There was food and water in there, so I took each chick and dipped beaks into the water and food. Mama would get up to eat and drink as well.

On day 3, I opened the gate, and later the broody came out with chicks in tow. They would return to their crate often to rest and eventually they would stay outside most of the day. Later they slept all together in a nest box until chicks were too large to fit. Then she took them to the roost to sleep under her wings with the big hens. That is a cute picture.

I would caution that if this doesn’t work out, be prepared to brooder the chicks yourself. Also, broodies can break themselves, and suddenly abandon chicks. I had one abandon chicks at 2 weeks, and they were so experienced foraging with their mama, that they actually made it on their own by piling together in a nest box for heat. Those were tough chicks. Good luck!