Chicken died while brooding.

[luvmypets]

I never have broodys get up to eat or drink till eggs are hatched. But that's prob cause we give them food and water, in there brooder thing so they don't have to get off the eggs.

 

[chicky1016]

You normally shouldn't need to force a hen to eat or drink while she is broody. It is very rare for a hen to not get off to eat or drink and starve or dehydrate themselves. 

Im dealing with this right now. Day 5 of sitting and her comb is pale. I offered her some water and she drank like there was no tomorrow. Gave her some food and she gobbled it right up. Honestly, i dont think shes gotten up the entire time. Havent seen any huge poop anywhere. Im at a loss... i have no way to seperate her.

 

[Mahlzeit]

Im dealing with this right now. Day 5 of sitting and her comb is pale. I offered her some water and she drank like there was no tomorrow. Gave her some food and she gobbled it right up. Honestly, i dont think shes gotten up the entire time. Havent seen any huge poop anywhere. Im at a loss... i have no way to seperate her.

That's really odd to me. I have had many broody hens and never messed with them and never had that issue. You don't even have a large box or anything you can place her in?

 

[chicky1016]

That's really odd to me. I have had many broody hens and never messed with them and never had that issue. You don't even have a large box or anything you can place her in?

Can I put her in a box and keep her in the garage? Will she jump out? Does sunlight matter when they're broody? Because she won't really get any light. There are 2 windows in there but no direct sunlight. Hubby thinks I'm nuts as it is- I can see me presenting him with this idea. Honestly, I'm desperate at this point. Heck, I'd keep her in the basement if I knew he'd go for it. (I have a dog who's not so friendly with chickens- otherwise I'd keep her upstairs with me)

 

[chicky1016]

Well I picked her up and set her down inside the coop and she just FELL down. Like not wanting to stand at all and she was in the sitting "stance" with her feathers spread out some. So I took her to the run and she stood right up. Walked around for about 10 min, ate, drank and did the most disgusting gigantic poop I have ever seen from a chicken, and she went back to the nest all by herself, (and went to the right one!). Problem is, she only has ONE egg. I don't know how to candle them to see if it's even viable. Is this unusual to only have one egg? This is her first time though, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. We are on day 7.

 

[Krazy4Chicks]

I have Silkie chickens which are very broody. I pull all eggs on a daily basis, as I'm not trying to hatch any of them. But they will just sit in their nesting boxes in a "trance" state. I do supply food and water up in their coop, but I seriously don't think they get out of their nests to eat and drink. I physically take them out of their boxes and close them out of their coop and let them roam around in their outdoor pen. Then they wake up out of their "trance", drink, eat, scratch around and put out a large nasty broody poo. I leave them out for about an hour to be sure they've eaten and got some water. Then I open up the coop door and let them run back up and in. I would be too nervous if I didn't do this, because I honestly don't think they would get out of their nesting boxes otherwise. And these chickens are so small (between 2-4 lbs.), so it wouldn't take much time for them to dehydrate/starve.

 

[fuzzylonghairba]

I am having a horrible experience myself. One of my (new) silkies began to set. It was still very cold here as well. Northern Nevada. I have a great insulated coop and heat light so wasn't too worried except the nests were constructed on the floor and the door is open to the elements yet boxed enough for protection. I was very excited to have a chicken setting. After so many years of home-grown, free-range eggs, this is my first hen to set - well actually with a rooster, only had one other rooster: I had another profile and talked about saving a mixed breed chick, half meat bird and half americauna who was left in the nest and froze. My son picked it up and put aside to dispose of but when the sun came up it moved so he put it into his shirt and brought to me - long story in my other profie but that chick turned into a rooster, raising him on my bed in a shoe box then boot box then Rubbermaid tub and when I switched to a bigger tub he had to live in the living room and he was mean for a minute though got over it because I loved him - omgosh was he a handful growing up, and I wrote about that too - sticking to this story, but one of the (old) hens had (turned) - another thing I never heard of before and I'm old as dirt myself, having had chickens pretty much my entire adult life and raising 6 kids with the menagerie. So, this silkie begins to set. I'm so happy, 21 days eh? Well it's been over a month and she is still setting there I was worried she would die but she began to get up and out every few days and I placed food and clean water outside the box, in the coop-house. She was in a trance too which alarmed me. So a week or so ago I took a flashlight and checked the eggs. I removed the clear eggs and boiled for the dog. I left the rest. I checked again today and some seemed to have an air cavity that wasn't dark and took them into the house where I was prepared to dispose of them along with the clear eggs obviously recently laid there by the other hens on top of the hen in the trance. I opened one and almost wanted to die myself. What a horrible mistake. I hurriedly put the other eggs, even the clear ones back into the nest. There are about 15 eggs in there now! That hen has set for a month and almost a half! Her head is dirty and she is squawking, fluffing her feathers and wings when she comes out for few minutes. My adult son and I then had a funeral and I cried. I have a little graveyard for birds as sometimes little birds fall from the trees in windy times. I have ponds with Koi and a garden which attracts all sort of birds. I have three finches too having only recently acquired a male, hope to have some baby finches too soon. Well the other chick I raised on my bed turned out to be a rooster as I mentioned. For some reason he wanted to kill that other hen (my old pet chickens that were old when I got them but something got into the hen house during the snow season and just slaughtered them. I actually still think it was my son's dog but we guessed maybe a raccoon or cat. I set traps to no avail). I had to re home that rooster and how pretty he was. He followed me around with the dog. I posted photos of them when I painted the hen house last summer and both of them got paint on their heads. I learned that sometimes, without a rooster, one of the hens might try to change hormones and actually try to crow which was what that dominant hen did and so that rooster just wanted to dispose of her but shortly after re homing him to a local ranch who also saw him as being hand raised pet, was when something cleaned out my chickens. I said then "no more chickens" but I love birds especially yard birds that eat the bugs because I don't care for more chemicals. Aren't we getting enough chemicals from our chem trails gawd awful conspiracies? Anyway, as love would have it, this silky rooster I have now is the spitting image of that rooster in color and with a better temperament, friendly (though won't jump in my lap), and exactly the same coloration. Who would have thunk it? Well, how do I know when the eggs "pip?" I now am doing NOTHING but let NATURE take it's course. I am not God. Anyone have suggestion for me? Please? Happy trails with love to all, vi Three of the new Silkys The coop house in background

These are the only photos I have on this PC but I love this site and will get back to y'all and as summer progresses, will put up some more pics. Smiles 4 miles, vii

 

[fuzzylonghairba]

I too wondered if there were some preexisting condition because setting for 5 days is nothing. I just wrote a book about my hen and hope the moderator posts it but my hen has been setting over a month - she too has clean fresh water daily and natural seeds and grains set out for her within pecking distance. I also have stainless water basins throughout the yard and more seeds and grains with veges scraps and a lawn of clover in orchard grass. These silkies have managed to eat off almost every clover in the yard. When I got them, they were in a backyard that was dirt and a few winter bushes such as pine. Now they have bugs and I dig constantly for bugs and worms. Once I had hens that ate some small shards of glass that the rain exposed way back in the back of the yard which to these hens, is fenced off without access unless I'm with them, digging. Otherwise that area is off limits. They peck at and will eat anything that shines - they all have especially loved the cicada nymphs which are few and far between but out there, mostly in potato patches and near roots also in the roots of the alfalfa hedge. When these silkies first arrived they ate anything, slugs and every worm I turned over. Now they are becoming not unlike the other hens I had and some worms they won't touch. My point is this: if it is shiny it looks like a bug. It may be possible she got something and just got plugged up, finding the nest box comfortable, laid down there. I had an old old hen that sat by my bed waiting for me to get up. She got arthritic so I carried her from place to place until one day I put her under a lounger on the clover in the shade. The sun came out and she was exposed for a few minutes and drug herself by her wings to shade, causing her wings to scrape. I loved her one more night and took her to the vet the next day. I was able to hold her while she went to sleep. I so love all creatures, big and small. We are to be caretakers - we don't have "dominion", in my observation that is a miss-translation. Sometimes living things just get called. The most important I've found is fresh, clean water even in the winter, for all things . . . even the wild things. Happy trails, vi

 

[fuzzylonghairba]

Sad for your loss but remember friends as you pass by that all alive are born to die. Even the old oak will lose it's leaves but has left it's mark in making more trees. I would doubt very much that at 5 days she died from starvation. My personal experience is that they go into a sort of hibernation zone and just don't eat. When nature calls they do get up and if food and water is available, then they eat. I keep it within two feet of the box so if she needs to eat or drink it's there. Now that the weather has warmed here in NOrthern Nevada, seems that the broding hens are getting up more often than in the early Spring when it was colder. Today we lifted up a hen who has been sitting for some time and there were >20 eggs under her and for the life of us we can't imagine where they came from. The other hen who disappeared only to reappear some weeks later had been sitting on eggs too and she got up day before yesterday with >12 babies. Trying to count them is as difficult as counting the guppies in the fish tank. Well, best wishes and don't give in, up or out. Things are how they are for a reason and there's one in every season. Happy Trails

 

[fuzzylonghairba]

These were the first brood to hatch and there are four left who are now teenagers. I need to get more photos with a real camera but this will have to do for now. Interesting the coloring they have when they are first hatched eh? The second brood that hatched two days ago are >20 in number and for the life of me I have no idea where all those eggs came from nor how there is a second hen (this hen) that is setting on another >20 eggs now too. I am in the silky chick business ha ha. Well friends, Northern Nevada and if you would like to have some silky's let me know. Don't think I can mail them but I'd take a road trip if it isn't too far and meet you half way. Happy trails!