Broody

i just moved her with a nice little nest and the eggs shes been sitting on to where she will be separated from
the flock (4'x8'x30" tall area below the existing coop platform); she hasnt sat back on them yet but assuming she does, I would like her to hatch some out

any males that hatch out would be rehomed to my friends 300 acre farm with a free roaming flock

i have the space for moree but not too many more..i'm at six now
It may take her all day to settles back into nest after being moved, why I use fake eggs at this point ..then when she settles for a day and a night then give her fresh fertile eggs.
Can the flock still see her?

Does she have room and dirt to dust bathe?
If not, it would be good to treat for lice/mites before she sets.
I use permethrin powder for that.
 
that makes sense; I just moved the eggs she had been sitting on and will give it some time before i buy her fertile ones.
she seems pretty lethargic is this typical?

she is separated by 1" spacing vinyl lattice so they are still able to see eachother; it may be temporary until i get out to buy some wire..the other girls lines up along it looking for her

she has ~32 sq ft to herself in this set up with nest, food and water on one half and it is wide open on the other half to let her walk around/dust bathe/do chicken stuff

my main concern right now is the lethargy she is showing. I am hoping i did not confuse her being broody with being sick and conveniently sitting in the nest box...
 
my main concern right now is the lethargy she is showing. I am hoping i did not confuse her being broody with being sick and conveniently sitting in the nest box...
Well, when broody they do go into a kind of trance.

Maybe we better back up.....
And shes only been sitting for about 2 days when is it safe to say shes gone broody and move her/get eggs?
Had she been in nest all day and all night?

Backup further.....I really missed the boat on this one,
I didn't read thoroughly before replying.
the oldest of my 5 pullets just started laying the other day outside of the nest boxes, I moved the eggs into one nest in hopes shed get the hint and start using them...NOPE! turns out the oldest (a rescue that escaped an attack and showed up all bloody at work) took a liking to the eggs and went/started going broody.
How old is this bird?
How long have you had her?
How long has she been laying?
How many other birds do you have?
How old are they and when did you get them?
 
How old is this bird? not sure; she showed up in the parking lot at work one day w/ a big slice down her back and one under her beak I brought her home, had her in a dog crate and got her healed up
How long have you had her? had her about 3 months or so
How long has she been laying? she hasn't laid since bringing her home (not yet at least)
How many other birds do you have? 5 others
How old are they and when did you get them? 3 are right about 6 months old and two are right around 3 months old

she had been in the nest on 3 eggs and a golf ball all day/night as far as i know

I moved her this morning along with 'her' eggs, food, water, nest box, etc but she has just seemed real lethargic and has not gone back to the eggs....I've never had a broody so I am not sure if this is typical behavior or if she's sick and I should be doing something

she is eating, drinking and walking around but moving very slowly and will sometimes just stand there for a while and close her eyes
 
Hmmm...she could be ill.
Did she get along with your other birds....
....or maybe you never integrated her into your flock??
 
Hmmm...she could be ill.
Did she get along with your other birds....
....or maybe you never integrated her into your flock??
Yea she got along great with them she was integrated with the 6 month olds as soon as her wounds were healed up so back around february sometime. She has been at the top of the pecking order ever since and sayed there when you two 3 month olds were integrated. Im no vet or poultry expert but I'm at a loss. How do broodies usually act?
 
So she's probably not hiding out.
The standing with her eyes closed sounds like maybe not feeling well.
Have you checked her over for injury or swollen belly?
Is she pooping OK?
This is what I do if I think a bird is ill:
I'd isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so you can closely monitor her intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and her poops. Feel her abdomen for squishy or hard
swelling.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.


Have you checked her over real well for mites and/or lice?
Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.
Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).
Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.


Broodies flatten out on the nest and stay there for most the day and all night.
When you pull them out of nest and put them on the ground they will drop right back down flat on the ground like their legs can't hold them up.
They do not poop in nest but get up and out and drop the hugest smelliest poops ever.
They are often in a trance, but can hiss and spit and growl and bite if you disturb them,
but laying hens can do that too.
When they do get up too eat/drink/poop/dust bath, they will walk around clucking a soft low repetitive 'brood cluck'.
 
none of the others are acting like this which is what stumped me. i know not everything is contagious but they all have the same food/water source..i offered her access to the yard to roam for a few hours and until a couple minutes she stayed in. she just decided to come out and walk around which im hoping is a good thing. but is now just standing in the yard with eyes closed
 

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