Broody won't eat

[Nonnie195]

It's been about 2 weeks now and my little Rudy seems to be doing fine. I had to finally move the food and water closer to her because she simply would not get off the nest. She eats and drinks very little on her own, so twice a day I put the food and water up to her to get her to eat and drink. Then I take her off the eggs and take her out of the "maternity ward" so that she can move around a little. (It is pretty cold here, so I warm a towel and put it over the eggs once I take her off the nest.) It takes her a minute or so for her to stand and walk around. Then, she usually walks around, jumps on the perch, scratches a bit, jumps down, poops, and then goes and stands by the door to the maternity ward. Once in the ward, she waits for me to take the towel off the eggs. Then she carefully gets back on the eggs. She is so cute!

One interesting thing that I noticed about her poop is that while it is still stronger than "regular" poop, it is not nearly as strong or as big as the first time I took her off the nest and she pooped. (I think she went two days without pooping in the beginning.)

 

[Cheryl1948]

Nonnie, you are caring for Rudy very tenderly I know also that if we leave them to "do their thing", they will probably be just fine. But, like you, I like helping my Rachael thru this. She is one of my Buffs. She is not even laying on eggs, but has been broody for 10 days. I go down about four times a day and take her out of the nesting box. I close the coop doors and I carry her around for a few minutes until she is ready to fly down out of my arms. I read that the flying motion helps her poop sooner, and, if I just let her flop down some of the other chickens try to peck her. She hangs out in the pen with the other girls, eating the feed, drinking water, rolling in the dirt, getting exercise and pooping. So far her poop is completely normal, except at times it is quite a lot.

I have tried a couple of things I was told to do to get her to stop being broody. Closing her favorite nesting box didn't work. She just jumped into another one. Fluffing the nest each time I take her out didn't work. I read you can put them in a wire cage for a couple of days. With the cage up off of the ground, the air gets under their bellies and cools them and throws their hormones out of broodiness. But, I am not going to do that with the weather so unpredictable. Their coop is huge, but not insulated. Anyway, you wouldn't be interested in that, because Rudy is hatching eggs!

I know it will be a couple more weeks before she snaps out of it, hopefully, but I am going to continue treating her tenderly, too.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

 

[Nonnie195]

That is so sweet! My friends think that I am crazy for doing all of this, but they don't understand the attachment. It seems like yesterday when she was about a month old that, while I was squatted down outside to pick something up, she jumped on my back and climbed to my shoulder. I talked to her a minute or so, and then realized something! I looked at her and said, "Rudy, don't you poop on me!" Too late. My husband just sat there and laughed. He had to take her off my shoulder so I could clean up. It was just too funny.

 

[Cheryl1948]

You are exactly right...they do NOT understand the attachment some of us have to all animals. They think they are "just chickens". I know a lot of people do not raise them like pets, but mine are definitely pets. I think most backyard chicken farmers love to spoil their "girls" (& guys in some cases; I don't have a rooster).

I forgot to say that when you take Rudy out for some fresh air, you might want to do like I do, and let her get around a little, get some water, etc., and then I bring in the big dish of treats; vegies, greens, fruit and yogurt, turkey, or mealworms. That way she gets some extra stuff too. Maybe you are doing that already. See, mine really are spoiled!! lol It is like you said, some people just shake their heads or laugh, but I don't care. I have these 15 chickens and they are my responsibility. They are giving me 10-14 eggs a day; it's the least I can do to repay them!

 

[Nonnie195]

Mine tend to be a bit spoiled also. It has been so cold here, that I am reluctant to carry her outside myself. Only once did she go out the chicken door and walk around a bit. Of course that was the day when she took forever to poop and I had to leave to go out of town. Then, I really felt rushed. Even today, with the temps in the low 40's, she did not care to go out. She just looked out the door. She did get a few bites out of the big feeder and showed her dominance to a couple of my other sweeties, but then she walked back to the door of the maternity ward and patiently waited for me to open it.

I read that it is better to feed her chick starter food since it is higher in protein and a little scratch for the carbs. Then, when she has the chicks, she can teach them to eat the right feed. The only problem is that she doesn't seem to want to eat the chick starter. I finally went back to the layer pellets so she would eat. (That was days ago.) What are your thoughts on that?

 

[Beekissed]

They don't really need to get off the nest to eat, though us humans feel they should. If they have a nest out in the bush they don't locate it next to food and water. Most often it's in a brush pile somewhere and they don't move around much there so as to not attract predators. It's an instinctual behavior and a very good broody hardly ever comes off that nest. Their hormones slow down their metabolism and even control the blood flow to certain areas, whether that blood will hold nutrients or will not, all the while having a faster heart rate than a nonbroody hen. A broody hen is a miracle in design and cannot be matched for hatching efficiency. They don't actually need the food and water during these times if they have gone into the brood in good health. Forcing her off the nest is going against her instincts and her needs and compromising her hatch. She'll get off if she feels like it and will not starve there, nor die of dehydration. Her body is in a whole different mode than normal.

This is one reason I find broody hatches in a coop situation are not as good as if the hen is separated out into her own pen so there are no distractions and she doesn't have to see other hens eating and drinking. I've found that some birds that are not very good at being broody will get off the nest to join the others if they are around this behavior. The very best broodies take in very little food and water during all that time~if any~ and only get off the nest a few times to get rid of that broody plug.

Just keep water and food in her general area and let her do what she does best. Chickens have been doing this since the beginning of time without humans forcing them off the nest for food, water and exercise.

 

[Cheryl1948]

But, Beekissed, my broody isn't hatching eggs. She isn't on any eggs at all. Yet, she still stays in the nesting box. So, am I making a mistake also, taking her outside for food, water, exercise, etc.?

 

[Nonnie195]

Beekissed, you are so correct in what you say. God did design animals to take care of themselves; however, humans have domesticated them. We separate them so they are not bothered by other chickens. In nature, other chickens would surely come around. In nature, God gave them the ability to find food and water, yet we put food and water out for them. We give them grit, oyster shells, shelter... What about vaccinations? Man developed those also, so we intervene on that part of their health.

While I do believe what you say is true, and I did start out that way, I only know that she did not relieve herself until I took her off of the nest on the third day and she pooped within a minute. And not to be gross, but it came out with such force...as I presume she had been holding it in for too long. I have never seen so much poop come out of a chicken before. The first one had to be at least a cup to a cup and a half full. Then after about another minute or so, she pooped again. Not as much, but definitely a large amount. All of that feces can not be good if left inside, and I have heard of hens relieving themselves in the nest, which I think would be worse than taking her off the eggs.

 

[Beekissed]

But, Beekissed, my broody isn't hatching eggs. She isn't on any eggs at all. Yet, she still stays in the nesting box. So, am I making a mistake also, taking her outside for food, water, exercise, etc.?

You can try to break the broody behavior or let it run it's course. Broodiness is a hormonal change and if they can change towards broodiness, they can change back. No problems. Just wait and see what happens without intervention.

We didn't domesticate the chicken, some animals were designed for our use as food and as such were designed to be managed by humans. I hold no thoughts that the chicken was domesticated by man no more than I think cattle, house cats or dogs were. They were designed by God to be domesticated and as such they came equipped to be self sustaining within our management and require protection and some level of intervention, but as little as possible. I've raised chickens for 37 yrs without a single vaccination given to one of them and always have healthy flocks, never any illness.

Let the animal perform as she was meant to perform. It's our excessive intervention that even causes the perceived need for vaccinations at all.

 

[Nonnie195]

I was wondering, do you feed your chicks starter feed or medicated starter feed? I have read so much about both. Do you let your chicks be raised by the hen or do you separate them and use a light for heat. If you let them be raised by the hen, when do you integrate them?

By the way, I really like your picture.