Broody's 2nd Day -- Poop in Nest?

[PatS]

Our 10 month-old buff orpington went broody. After she stayed in her nest box for 24 hours, we moved her at night to the area pictured below, outside the coop, but inside a closed, protected run. She is in the pet carrier and has food and water in her pen, but not much room. (The pen is only a teensy bit longer than what is pictured. What you see if what she's got. Is it adequate?)

As we moved her, we saw she had had one "accident" (poop) in the old nest box. That was Sunday night. Here it is Tuesday afternoon, and no sign of a poop in her little cage. There is evidence she's been out -- a few pieces a straw out of the carrier one day, food scattered the other, but no poop. Although it looks like some of the white stuff may have been rubbed off her butt and onto the side of her waterer (as she turned around?), leading me to think she's had another accident in the nest, with a very loose b.m.

If she has, won't the resulting bacteria kill the eggs? This is my first broody, and I really, really want this to work out (for both of us!).

Any advice from you experienced chicken Godmothers out there? Please?

 

[PatS]

bump.

 

[baltimoreharps]

Hi!
I'm not a godmother, but I do have two broodies going right now, one who was a mom last year. I never separated my broody from the rest of the flock until after the chicks were all hatched and then I separated the new mom and chicks. At least with her, she seemed to be more comfortable overseeing everything from the nestbox, but she was and still is the lead hen, so that may make a difference.
She is now broody along with her daughter who is a first time mom and they are sharing the same nestbox, so I'm leaving well enough alone. No one is stupid enough to mess with them but me, lol, so they both are not bothered by the other girls.

If your broody is messing the nest and is already separated from the others, personally I'd make an effort of taking her off the eggs once or twice daily outside of the broody pen so that she can stretch her legs, get a dust bath and interact briefly with the rest of the flock. One of my broodies wouldn't even walk until I picked her up and sat her next to the food and water and then she kind of wobbled around all puffed up and mad until she got the idea that it was ok to be off the eggs and then she started gobbling food, drinking water and getting a very quick dustbath before bolting back to the nest.

The area looks fine, but from the pic, it looks a little bit too narrow to get a decent eat/water/poo/dustbath/back to the nest thing for my girls, but mine love thier space and some of the others who aren't broody yet, they like tight, close spaces, so I really have no idea.

If it doesn't seem like it's working for your girl, then try some different things with her on her time off the nest. And don't worry about upsetting her, she's going to yell everytime that you look at her so you're not worse off than the rest of us!

Hope that helps, and that your girl has a great hatch!

 

[PatS]

Thanks, Baltimoreharps. We reconfigured the run this morning to give her a few more square feet of wiggle room. She had messed in the back of the nest so we pulled out some straw. The eggs looked okay, though. She didn't try to bite me, but she was clearly unhappy about being taken off the nest and acted very strangely. I wiped her bottom with some dry wash clothes, and she pooped some more. I guess I will have to take her off the nest once or twice a day, at least until she gets the idea to do it on her own. She didn't want to eat or drink, just get back on the nest. (She has eaten a little over the last few days, the food was disturbed, plus she's eaten some treats from my hand.)

(I'm a little uncomfortable about disturbing her and wondering how much to interfere -- shouldn't I let nature take it's course?)

 

[RL]

My first time broody pooped in the nest also. She didn't like to get off the nest because the other girls would sit around waiting for her to get off and then lay would jump in so she took to staying on it. I built a small cage and placed it front of her nest so she could get off and do her thing with out worry. It took about two days for her to accept it and would poop in the nest. I knew when she did because of the smell. I just cleaned it out of the nest. She was sitting on 11 eggs and all but one hatched and it did not hatch because it got curshed - looked to be a thin shell. It may just be that yours and mine were young and worryed about getting off the nest, but I think if you can keep the poop cleaned out, the eggs should be fine. Just try and not let her eat anything that would give her runny poop. Good luck with your broody.

 

[ishva]

My first time broody hen did the same thing. She wouldn't leave the nest. I had to pick her up once a day so she would eat and drink. After a few times doing that, she got the message. She started walking around, eat, drink and poop outside the nest. Some of the eggs that she sat on got poop on it (that was when she first did it). Out of 5 eggs, 4 hatched.

 

[PatS]

Thanks RL and ishva. I will worry less now. I took Broody Mama off the nest twice today and she pooped and ate and drank a little both times. So until and unless she does this on her own, I'll take her off for a five minute break twice a day in hopes she doesn't poop. The eggs look pretty clean, just a tiny smear on a couple, so I'll leave them alone. I guess the "bloom" serves its purpose! Thanks again.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

If her poop is runny you could try adding a little raw Apple Cider Vinegar into her drinking water. Broodies usually make an enormous firm poop every day, it can look & smell like a dog turd. Sometimes they can hold it & poop every other day or two. They're not being very active & really don't need much food. But their poop shouldn't be runny. I once had a broody hen with similar issues & the eggs still hatched though the ACV helped improve her digestion.

I don't like to interfere much with my broody hens, but sometimes you'll have one who needs more intervention than others. They certainly need water & regular food available, but usually not special treats or hand-feeding. They may want to dust bathe before hatch, but some can & will wait until then. Check her condition daily, & check also for mites/lice. I will dust around & under the nest with insecticidal powder as a preventative, or dust the hen herself if I find vermin already on her.

I wish you & your hen great success with this, it's one of my favorite aspects of chicken keeping to watch a hen incubate & raise a clutch of chicks!

 

[baltimoreharps]

Quote:
This!!!

I forgot about the ACV since I use it daily but it helps digestion so very much with the hens and yes, the broody poo.....we should patent it, we'd have no more wars with THAT stuff packaged and ready!

It should be firm and SUPER smelly enough to make you go YUK, and if it's not with Momma Broody, get her some apple cider vinegar to put in the water. It really does help and my chickens love the taste in the water.

If you have DE, please sprinkle the nest she's using liberally with DE and if you don't have that poultry dust is really, really great at controlling mites, lice, etc on the broody herself and the nest. It makes her so much more comfy if she can't take a dustbath, (my 1st time mom is a diva and she HAS to have a quick dustbath or her day is ruined, lol) and it will help with the mom's health also to cut down on blood loss and general discomfort with being itchy, uncomfortable, etc.

Each broody is different and I'm sure that you'll find what works for your girl and for your chicks.

Now, we can all wait out this endless 3 week period thinking that hatch day is NEVER going to get here, lol!!

Sending good hatching vibes your way!

 

[PatS]

Thanks for all your help!

ACV added to her water, I took her out for a little walk this morning and she ate some of the pellets and a little greens, had a drink of water, and another runny pooh. Her friends were all very curious and crowded around her, but she paid them no attention.

She really seems in an altered state of consciousness, more so when she is first lifted out of the nest, but still very "stoned" even when she has been out for a couple of minutes. Her eyes are crazed, she's a little fluffed up, and her comb and wattle are pink, not their usual red. When we were getting her broody nest together, we did put DE in there, and I have never seen any indication of lice or mites so I don't thank that is the problem.

She did waddle back into the nest on her own today, so I know something is clicking.

Is it normal for them to look so "pale?"