chicken sitting on nest all day, comb kinda dry on tips, when I got her out of the nest she just lay

[crista1025]

I have 2 Buff Orpintons, they are just over a year and a half old. I don't have a rooster. They have been laying for about a year. I feed them organic crumble and organic scratch, as well as fresh organic vegetables. Sometimes I let them out to forage in the yard too. The other day while I was at work their water got tipped over and they didn't have water until the next morning when I found it. The next day one of the hens stayed in the nest box all day ( on eggs). I tossed her out eventually and she went and ate and drank a ton and seemed fine. Today she stayed in the nest box most of day again until I noticed. When I came near to get her out she got kind of angry and fluffed all up. When I tossed her out she just layed on the ground for a little while. Eventually she got up and started eating and drinking, but she's been making odd sounds- not her usual noises. And she has been fluffing up and seems irritated! Her comb is a little floppy and dry on the tips with a purplish tinge ( not normal for her) At first I thought maybe she was dehydrated from the day without water, then I thought she might be going broody, and then I started to worry she has some terrible illness! I got vitamins and antibiotics today to put in their water. What do you guys think?

 

[Fly 2006]

I am sure someone with more knowledge will come along but until then heres my thoughts... I would say your hen is showing all the symptoms of being broody but I am not sure about the comb thing though. Broodies do make funny noises and they do get cross and fluff up when you disturb them but it is important to do so as you have seen already they sit and don't come out to eat or drink, remove any eggs straight away and keep putting her outside as much as you can, even if she does get cross!! I would say some vitamins could only be a good thing but I am sure someone else will advise about the antibiotics, hope she improves soon X

 

[AZBootsie]

Sitting in her nest, puffing up, cranky, growling?? Broody for sure.

 

[tatiana916]

My chicken is doing exactly the same I even removed her favourite nesting box because even when there was no eggs she would sit there not eating or drinking but then she just sat on the bare floor.

 

[Chemguy]

Broody. BO's are very good at this. Does she also fluff up and have a faraway look?

If you want more chickens, now is a good time to consider it. If not, and if you are worried about her, then you can keep putting her out of the nest box or try to 'break' her. There is a lot of info on this site about how to do that.

I always have a broody (always a BO), and they do fine on their own and I have never needed to break one. However, they do lose weight and stop laying. I don't depend on my flock for meat or eggs so this is OK for me.

 

[crista1025]

thank you!!!

 

[crista1025]

thanks for all the feedback!!! so yesterday I let both hens free range in my yard for a few hours, hoping to "distract" Henrietta from her issues and I think it worked! she stayed out of the nest the whole day and this morning she looks a lot better, her comb is back to normal, and she is out with her sister eating and scratching. I put the vitamins and antibiotics in their gallon water feeder, so maybe that is helping too. One thing though- the water/vitamin/medicine mix at first was bright yellow and now it has turned brown. it's been 2 days. Does this mean it has gone bad? Do I have to mix a new batch everyday? The directions didn't say anything about how long a mixture is good for......

 

[Chemguy]

Some of the vitamins are degraded by sunlight (and water), leaving behind those that do not. So, that is the reason for the color change. There are still vitamins remaining after the color change, but if you want the full blend to be available to your flock you'll need to change the water and provide a new dose about every day or so.

I provide a low dose (about 4 mL or 3/4 tsp) per gallon in the water every other time I fill up the waterers. I feel that this supplements their diet well, which includes plenty of greens that would otherwise go onto the compost pile. Using a lower dose also means that a bottle of vitamins lasts longer.

It's good to hear that everything is going well! Maybe your hen could come over to teach mine a few things.

 

[KootenaiRiverChick]

One of our Cuckoo Marans went uber-broody and would not stop no matter how hard we tried to break her, and we tried everything. She was doing the exact same thing as yours and it went on for over a month. We ended up getting her two chicks that we snuck under her at night and now she is super happy being a mama.

 

[bubblensqueak]

i have a crazy broody hen how do I find chicks to sneak in there and will the other chickens have issues with this? is it healthy for the new chicks to be in the big house like that?