chicken doesn’t want to come out?

[ladizzlee]

so my only egg laying hen (21 weeks old) doesn’t want to leave her “nest”

she started laying april 23 and since then we’ve gotten an egg a day around 10am. so today we didn’t get our egg till 12pm today and every 30 mins or so we go and check on all the chickens outside and she’s just hanging out in the coop sitting as if she was sitting on eggs but there are no eggs under her. this is not her usual. she’ll go out with everyone and hang out and eat everything in my yard so i’m concerned.

 

[neo71665]

First signs of going broody

 

[rosemarythyme]

If she stays on the nest overnight, or begins showing behaviors such as: a tik-tik-tiking sound, puffing up like a turkey, flattening like a pancake and growling, ripping feathers from her chest, then those are signs that you have a broody and you'll need to decide how to want to proceed with that.

 

[ladizzlee]

First signs of going broody

what do i do about this? cause i’m not hatching any eggs. the ones she’s giving me are so small and we’ve just been eating them.

If she stays on the nest overnight, or begins showing behaviors such as: a tik-tik-tiking sound, puffing up like a turkey, flattening like a pancake and growling, ripping feathers from her chest, then those are signs that you have a broody and you'll need to decide how to want to proceed with that.

when i picked her up to go outside she was like growling at me and then she sounded like a clock ticking with her noises. she’s staying on her “nest” all day and not sure if it’s at night too.

 

[aart]

she’s staying on her “nest” all day and not sure if it’s at night too.

Check her after dark.....I'm guessing she'll be in the nest.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[ladizzlee]

Check her after dark.....I'm guessing she'll be in the nest.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.
View attachment 2659864

do you put the crate in the coop or outside somewhere ?

 

[rosemarythyme]

do you put the crate in the coop or outside somewhere ?

If you have adequate weather/predator protection in the run, that's my preferred location for a breaker for the duration of the breaking period. Coop otherwise.

If placing it in the run but weather/predators are a concern and the coop simply doesn't have room, you can move the crate into the garage or a shed at night, OR put the hen on the roost when it's dark, knowing you'll need to yank her out of the nest box the next morning. It may take longer to break her if doing it that way.

 

[3KillerBs]

do you put the crate in the coop or outside somewhere ?

I was able to break my broody inside the electric net perimeter by giving the crate a roof and sheltering the windward sides.

She got 4 days of confinement and started laying again after about 2 weeks.

 

[ladizzlee]

another question about her being broody. how often does this happen?

 

[rosemarythyme]

another question about her being broody. how often does this happen?

Could be once in her lifetime, or it could be like clockwork. What breed is she?