Broody? Too hot? Egg bound?

[caralouise1974]

Okay, I've said on another thread that I'm not worried about my eight month old BO, Henrietta, who hasn't laid for a couple of days... well, now I am, a little.

She has recently (about the last two weeks) started doing very small tight infrequent poops, and none at all overnight (she refuses to roost and always sleeps in the same nestbox, so I can see every morning if she's pooped overnight or not). This co-incided with us putting a new type of hemp-shaving litter down in the run, and I thought she might be eating some if it and getting a little constipated. She's been behaving absolutely normally in every other way though. Our other hen isn't showing any odd symptoms either. She's laying daily, and I collect her egg within an hour of it being laid, and Henny has not been showing an interest in sitting on it.

Then, we've had a few 'hot' (by UK standards) days this week, and Henny hasn't laid an egg since Tuesday. However, she still goes and sits for at least an hour and a half, at around 9.30am, before emerging without having laid anything.

She's out there now (11.30am) on the nest, sitting with her eyes closed, occasionally gently panting and shuffling around, with straw nicely piled around her. She's been out there about 2 hours so far. I'm watching and waiting for her to emerge, because the last thing I want to do, if she's struggling to get an egg out, is disturb her on the nest. If she's got something stuck, I want her to have an undisturbed bash at passing it today.

I've examined her three times over the last couple of days now, and her vent is clean, not distended, abdomen firm but not hard, crop filling and emptying as normal. I haven't felt inside her vent yet, as I don't want to stress her unnecessarily. I have felt her pin bones though, and compared them to those of her coopmate, and they're both two finger's widths apart, so I don't think they've closed up at all, indicating she's still able to lay.

So, any ideas? Is she starting to go broody? If so, she's not very persistent and is sitting on nothing. Possibly egg bound - but she's not behaving like she's feeling under the weather. Could the tight little poops be relevant? Or is it simply the heat getting to her and she'll return to laying when it cools a little - in which case, what's with this daily fruitless sitting?

It's all a bit odd.

 

[caralouise1974]

Erm, okay, so I went out there about five minutes ago, and she's still sitting. I offer her an egg, to see if she will tuck it under her... she doesn't. I stroke her and she lets me, although she does make some little squeaking noises while I'm doing it.

Then I go for the kill... I reach under her. She immediately opens her eyes wide, as if a lightbulb has gone on, and scoots off the nest and out to join Bella on the grass. But horror of horrors... there's a little warm egg inside the nest!

So I have my answer. She isn't eggbound, thank goodness, she's hormonal! That's why she's been so reluctant to poop in her sleeping box/nestbox recently - she was preparing for nesting in it!

This couldn't have come at a worse time. I'm also hormonal... and am right now sitting at home waiting for my labour to start at any minute! I simply cannot cope with the challenge of breaking a broody buff orpington and caring for a newborn baby of my own. It's a nightmare!

Is it harder to get her a few hatching eggs, or break her of the brooding? Bear in mind our coop is only suitable for four hens, and we have two already. There are only two nestboxes (one of which they both currently ignore) and I have no facilities for a separate broody coop for Henny and chicks - they would have to stay in the coop with Bella (Henny is the top hen though, which I suppose would help in terms of the chicks being protected).

What's going to be the least amount of effort for us? Can I break her now, before she gets truly interested in sitting? How?

Anyway, it seems she's not very persistent, and is now quite happy trotting around the garden with Bella, all thoughts of broodiness apparently forgotten for today. Is this good, or is she likely to get more interested in sitting if I don't do something else to dissuade her, quick? (I can't do much strenuous stuff, obviously, as I'm enormous and awkward, and have a very bad late pregnancy backache and swollen feet!)

All suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

[Judy]

Yes, it is odd. I'd be worried, too.

I wonder if chickens sometimes "sort of" go broody. The way they try to breed broodiness out of them, one wonders if this can happen. I also wonder whether BO's in the UK are more or less likely to go broody than here, where it's only a sometimes thing.

Guess you could try a couple golf balls and see what happens. Or a warm bath.

I hope this doesn't turn out badly!

 

[Judy]

Ah, you posted while I was typing.

I think I'd let her do what she wants for the moment. Since she left the egg, it may not be true broodiness anyway, just a "burp" in the egg laying machinery. I don't think I'd try a couple of fertile eggs quite yet, since she left the egg.

I gave my broody some fertile eggs because she's been broody before without eggs and it took her over 2 months to get off the nest -- but she was staying there almost 24/7.

Let us know how everything comes out! And congrats on the new baby!

 

[caralouise1974]

Thanks ddawn.

I've just phoned hubbie at work and he flat refuses to entertain the idea of hatching eggs/chicks, what with the new baby on the way. I can't say I blame him either - it'll just be extra work we don't need right now.

I've just been out with Henny and Bella and they seem to be behaving normally, preening together and trotting around. Henny has forgotten about brooding for now at least. However, I just watched her do one of those enormous broody poops, so that kinda physically confirms what she was up to, doesn't it? Definitely the first signs of brooding, for sure.

Maybe if we keep shoving her off the nest every day after giving her an hour or so (to allow her to lay if she is going to) then she'll lose interest. She's not sitting very consistently at all yet, so perhaps I caught her early enough...

Hubbie wondered if Henny can sense the imminent arrival of the new baby and wants a piece of the action too! Is that possible?I know chickens are fairly sensitive but I wonder if that is just a little far fetched

 

[JLMom]

I love your husband's idea that she wants a piece of the 'broody' action! Maybe!
Good luck with your own labor. Fresh pineapple is supposed to help!

Jamelle

 

[caralouise1974]

Thanks very much Jamelle. I'm quaffing raspberry leaf tea and eating pineapple like it is going out of fashion, so hopefully things will get going soon... I'm in agony with some rather loose pelvis ligaments, so I can't wait for this baby to be out!

Just need Henny to behave herself so we can concentrate on the new arrival rather than worrying about her. Naughty girl

 

[Lollipop]

Cara, doesn`t sound like you have a rooster. The absolute simplest thing to do right now, in your situation, is to just forget about all of it. If she lays, good. If she sets, ok. Don`t let her keep any eggs and she`ll get over it soon enough. Make it easy on yourself and your hubby and just collect your eggs daily and don`t fret about anything. Congrats on the pending birth......Pop

 

[caralouise1974]

Quote:
Thanks so much Lollipop. No, no rooster, so no chicks to worry about unless we get fertile eggs.

I do sometimes need to have things put into perspective and you post has done that! You're right - she's not looking persistently broody as yet, and if she does, well, so be it. We'll worry about breaking her if it becomes necessary.

I'm such an old fusspot over these chooks! My Mum thinks I spend more time worrying about them than I do about the new baby. I just have to tell her that up until now, they WERE my babies!

 

[caralouise1974]

Update: nothing much to worry about, hurrah!

She pooped overnight in the nestbox (back to her dirty old habits!), made no attempt to sit on Bella's egg which was waiting for me when I got out there today, and has not yet visited the nestbox herself (it's 10am). She's spending a lot of time in the run, preening, guarding the door to the coop, and looking slightly confused, but at least she isn't sitting inside. She greeted me as normal today, fighting with Bella for the breakfast treats. Phew.

The naughty girl has pulled some breast feathers out though, so I think she had it pretty bad for a few days there. Will keep a close eye on her for a while and make sure she continues to behave herself