Chicken won’t leave nesting box

[Shellychen_]

Hi, so yesterday I posted about my hen laying an egg but only the yolk and white came out (no shell) today she refuses to get out of the nesting box and is not eating. She came out once to get water and that is it. Should I be worried and does this have to do with anything about the malfunction of egg laying? She is one year old.

 

[orloffer]

Hello! I do not know much about this, but I will give input anyways. Is it possible that your hen could be broody (wanting to sit on eggs to hatch them)? That could be a reason she will not leave the nest box. Also, giving hens crushed up oyster shell can help them get the calcium they require to lay proper eggs.

 

[Shellychen_]

Hello! I do not know much about this, but I will give input anyways. Is it possible that your hen could be broody (wanting to sit on eggs to hatch them)? That could be a reason she will not leave the nest box. Also, giving hens crushed up oyster shell can help them get the calcium they require to lay proper eggs.

Hi! There is no eggs in the box but if she is how do I get her to stop, because she refuses to eat anything and I’m getting worried.

 

[026TB4U]

As I've recently found out, they will sit on invisible eggs.

I have a hen who is on her 3rd cycle of being broody and sitting on no eggs.

 

[AllenK RGV]

My broody prison is finally empty. I would still look at the vent area for reproductive issues. If your hen is puffing up like a turkey as you get close and turning into a pancake when you move her and making odd cluck cluck noises that you have not heard before then that is typical broody behavior. They will sit the nest all day and leave the nest once daily to eat, drink, dustbathe, and leave a massive present behind if broody. @aart has some of the best broody breaking tips I have read so if you were to search that user you will learn much.

 

[Shellychen_]

Okay t

My broody prison is finally empty. I would still look at the vent area for reproductive issues. If your hen is puffing up like a turkey as you get close and turning into a pancake when you move her and making odd cluck cluck noises that you have not heard before then that is typical broody behavior. They will sit the nest all day and leave the nest once daily to eat, drink, dustbathe, and leave a massive present behind if broody. @aart has some of the best broody breaking tips I have read so if you were to search that user you will learn much.

Okay thank you so much! She is doing all those things except puffing up. I will try these tips, thank you!

 

[AllenK RGV]

The basics of broody prison is to get her off of nesting materials. I have 2 wire cages I use and they get placed on a cool surface so they can not get warmth going. Egg production stops once broody so to get them back to being layers you have to break their hormonal cycle by denying them the ability to trap the heat meant for incubation. Some elevate their cages. I leave them food and water inside the prison to hopefully break the once a day off the nest for it. All of the chicken I keep are inclined towards broodiness. Not all breeds are.

I will let them out 1 time per day to show me they either are or are not broody. If they make a run for an old nest well that is 24 more hours in the jail cell. I will put up to two birds in a cage at a time and I don't stress the henpecking much as it seems to speed up breaking. Hope that general overview helps.

 

[026TB4U]

I am locking mine out of her nesting box at the moment. She spends all day trying to find a way in.

Is this ok to do? Will this stress her out?

I hope you don't mind me asking this question on your thread since it's related to the same behavior.

Thanks.

 

[aart]

Hi, so yesterday I posted about my hen laying an egg but only the yolk and white came out (no shell) today she refuses to get out of the nesting box and is not eating. She came out once to get water and that is it. Should I be worried and does this have to do with anything about the malfunction of egg laying? She is one year old.

These are my go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

​

But looking at this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chickens-layed-eggs-without-shell.1391356/
...I would suspect something else, and I will reply there.