broody won"t stay off nest long enough to go potty!

[sunket77]

I have a very stubborn broody who won't stay off her nest long enough to poop! I take her off and she eats and drinks then goes back to her nest and will wait at least 2 days to poop and then ends up pooping a HUGE

poop in her nest! she has pooped on her eggs twice now and thankfully missed the eggs but messed up her nest the last time!! now we are 3 days from hatch and I don't want to disturb the nest how do I make sure she poops!??

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Is this only a recent behavior? Has she been pooping further away up to now? If so, what has changed in her environment to make this change in her behavior?

How big is her enclosure? Sometimes it helps to put the food & water on the far side of the pen so they have to walk a bit to get to it. Perhaps it's getting colder where you are & she doesn't want to leave the eggs long enough to poop.

Each broody hen comes with her own component of skills, some do everything well, some are prone to some unwise behaviors. Since it's so close to hatch time I wouldn't lift her off the nest any more, just let her be. She may not need food or water or to poop until the chicks hatch, so if she doesn't get off the nest on her own don't worry.

If she does poop in the nest just try to get it out without disturbing the hen. If it's the typical big firm smelly bomb that broodies make you could -- if you dare-- pick it up with a gloved hand. As long as it's not wet or runny it shouldn't hurt the chicks, they'll encounter a lot of her poop while they grow.

 

[HorseFeathers]

We had that happen once or twice with our first-time broody. These were like monster poops! We cleaned it up and had a 90% hatch rate.

Try moving her off the nest for just a few moments. You'll find that once she's off she scurry as far away from her nest as she can and poop there.

 

[sunket77]

She has been doing this for a while. But due to freezing temps coming on I moved her to a brooder inside. It's a plastic bin with her nest in one side and a rabbit cage on the other side. She seems to have adjusted fine and goes in and out to eat and drink once or twice a day but not for long periods of time just for about 5 min. or so. I tried to keep her away from the nest for longer but as soon as she got some food or water she went strait back. Her poop isn't as firm as I think it should be, it's kind of runny and smells like sewage! This is her first time to go broody but she has done wonderfully accept for this poop problem! She has even been moved twice and did great she really wants to be a mamma. I have a bator running just in case things do go wrong but she is doing great so far just wish she would do her business OFF the nest!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Try putting a little raw ACV in her drinking water, it could help her digestion & make her poops firmer. I had a broody with this issue & the ACV really helped.