Chicken is doesn't want to leave nesting box and seems sick!

[JamiesonC]

Hello,

I am new to this forum so I apologise if I am not using it right.

10 months ago I bought four chickens who were still a couple off months of laying, 3 of them had grown up together and the oldest one was from a different flock. They have a chicken coop with a container for water that I fill up every few days. I also feed them a poultry mix every morning that includes seeds and pellets.

The first instance of a sick chick was when the oldest chicken became very slow and blinking weirdly, she would regularly lay down with her head resting on my foot which just seemed cute at first. I finally decided to check for any problems she may have and found that she had a severe case of mites. It turned out all four chickens had mites so I cleaned the coop thoroughly with mite spray and hot water, then I used mite powder on the chickens. They all recovered well and began laying eggs. This is just the history of the chickens as I'm not sure if it could be related to the current problem.

the sick chicken:
For the last week one of the chickens from the 3 who grew up together hasn't been leaving the nesting box during day or night. To feed her I forcibly pick her up and place her next to the food so that she can eat and drink, after which she will stand up and walk around for 5 minutes then return to the box. Whenever I or another chicken goes close to her she will make noises and fluff her feathers. There aren't many details except that she hasn't got any feathers on her belly, and that she is the heaviest chicken weighing 2.6 kg.

At first I thought she was having trouble with an egg so I bathed her in epsom salts for 20 minutes, she laid an egg after that but she didn't improve. Then I figured she may have mites so I treated her for them but nothing changed. Then I thought she might have worms so I also treated her for that and nothing happened. I am guessing it could just be a variety of normal chicken behaviour such as moulting, brooding, and a general dislike for being moved out of the nesting box. Or it could be more serious.

Any help would be appreciated as I am not experienced with chickens.

Photo 1# Chicken in nesting box

Photo 2# Chicken fluffing feathers when I came near it

Photo 3# Chicken's belly

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

she seems Broody. do you have a rooster or a source of fertile eggs? do you want to hatch eggs at this point?

 

[Slothinc]

From your description and the photo of her belly I would guess that she has gone broody. Hopefully it is that, because that is nothing to be alarmed or worried about. There are many threads here about how to break a hen from being broody. Or if you want chicks you could stick fertilized eggs or day old chicks under her. If she is indeed broody, she will get off the nest on her own a couple of times per day to eat and drink so you probably don’t have to assist her with that

 

[WingItRanch]

@aart is an expert in broody behavior. They might be able to help you confirm if that's what's going on.

Here's an article on how to break the broody behavior if you don't want her hatching chicks. If you don't plan on letting her hatch, you'll want to break her since it can be rough on the hen's body. They'll pull their own feathers out for the nest and they'll only get up occasionally to eat and drink.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/broody-breaking-ala-aart.77915/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

For the last week one of the chickens from the 3 who grew up together hasn't been leaving the nesting box during day or night. To feed her I forcibly pick her up and place her next to the food so that she can eat and drink, after which she will stand up and walk around for 5 minutes then return to the box. Whenever I or another chicken goes close to her she will make noises and fluff her feathers.

Welcome To BYC

Where are you located in the world?

I agree, it does sound like she's broody. If you are wanting her to sit and hatch fertilized eggs, then mark some fertile eggs and put them under her. Since she's not getting off the nest daily like a broody should, then you will need to continue to get her off so she eats/drinks and poops. Hopefully dust baths too. Monitor her heavily for lice and mites, sitting hens can often get infested quickly.

If you do not want to hatch eggs, then break her broodiness.

These 2 articles will give you tips on how to break your hen:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/broody-breaking-ala-aart.77915/

https://the-chicken-chick.com/broody-breaker-when-hens-mood-to-hatch/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi and welcome to BYC. Are you providing crushed granite grit, always available, for your chickens? They require this for digestion. Laying hens also need a constant form of calcium in order to form strong, healthy egg shells. Crushed oyster shells, in another separate container, is one of the best ways of providing this.

You say you feed your chickens every morning. Chickens are foragers and eat all day. Can you purchase a feeder so you can keep food before them all day long? It's a good idea to take it up at night and put it in a safe place so it does not attract varmints like mice, rats, raccoons or opossums, the latter two of which can be deadly to your chickens.

I agree, your hen appears to be broody. She will set on the nest whether she has eggs or not, and whether they are fertile or not. This behavior is hormone-driven and more prevalent in some breeds than others.

 

[JamiesonC]

Thanks everyone for the swift replies!

I am in Queensland, Australia.

It's good to hear that it is likely just broody. I guess then the only thing that confuses me is why she fluffs her feathers for a while and makes a weird noise (like she is uncomfortable) after I take her out of the coop. Is this just because she is cleaning herself and doesn't want to be out of the nesting box?

Thanks again for the replies.

 

[JamiesonC]

she seems Broody. do you have a rooster or a source of fertile eggs? do you want to hatch eggs at this point?

They do have a rooster but no source of fertile eggs.

 

[JamiesonC]

Hi and welcome to BYC. Are you providing crushed granite grit, always available, for your chickens? They require this for digestion. Laying hens also need a constant form of calcium in order to form strong, healthy egg shells. Crushed oyster shells, in another separate container, is one of the best ways of providing this.

You say you feed your chickens every morning. Chickens are foragers and eat all day. Can you purchase a feeder so you can keep food before them all day long? It's a good idea to take it up at night and put it in a safe place so it does not attract varmints like mice, rats, raccoons or opossums, the latter two of which can be deadly to your chickens.

I agree, your hen appears to be broody. She will set on the nest whether she has eggs or not, and whether they are fertile or not. This behavior is hormone-driven and more prevalent in some breeds than others.

I didn't know about crushed granite. there is plenty of different types of grit around the yard like many different types of very fine gravel. I also only learnt about oyster shells recently so will have to try getting some.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks everyone for the swift replies!

I am in Queensland, Australia.

It's good to hear that it is likely just broody. I guess then the only thing that confuses me is why she fluffs her feathers for a while and makes a weird noise (like she is uncomfortable) after I take her out of the coop. Is this just because she is cleaning herself and doesn't want to be out of the nesting box?

Thanks again for the replies.

Fluffing up the feathers and making weird noises is all just part of being broody. It's her way of trying to frighten anything or anyone away from her nest by making herself look bigger and sounding fierce warnings.

They do have a rooster but no source of fertile eggs.

If the rooster is in with the hens, there is a very good chance he has fertilized their eggs. It's what roosters do.