Chicken broody? Or should I worry?

[Lindsay Jane]

Hi, all! We have two chickens, Pepper (black barred rocks) and Phoenix (Rhode Island red), both are about 9.5 months. Phoenix has spent the last two days in her nesting box inside the coop. Today, my husband physically picked her up and set her outside of the coop. We collected the two eggs from the day before, and within 15 minutes, she was back inside. She puffs her feathers up when we check in on her and seems very irritated to be taken out of the coop.

Meanwhile, our other chicken, seems pretty upset to be by herself in the yard! She has been squawking up a storm. They usually are side-by-side all day. They also usually take turns laying the same nesting box (we have three).

I assume the Phoenix is becoming "broody," as she doesn't seem to have any issues. What can I do to break her of this? Is being "broody" unhealthy?

On a side note- our third chicken, Rosie (same age, New Hampshire red) passed away last month. We are unsure as to the cause of death, as our local vet does not treat chickens and we were unable to take her in for a necropsy. All three were vaccinated for Marek's disease. Our two remaining chickens have been healthy and happy and developing normally. I don't think this broodiness is related to Rosie's death, but I am always worried!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Being broody is hard on a bird, they can lose weight, feathers, and overall body condition. If you are not planning to hatch chicks the best thing to do for your broody's health is to put her in a small cage (i.e. a wire dog crate, I use a small portable dog exercise pen) with food and water, either in the run or coop, for a few days, until she stops acting broody. You can then test her by letting her out and seeing if she returns to the nest, but if she doesn't or doesn't show much inclination to stay, she's good to go.

Sorry about your loss, I'm glad the remaining birds appear in good health. I doubt that losing a flockmate triggered the broodiness.