Chirping 2 year old chicken

[debgoody]

I have a chicken that has been sitting and it’s nesting box for probably over two weeks we keep kicking it out and when it goes out, it goes over and drinks water, and then walks around chirps a bunch and then just goes back to the nesting box. it seems to be skinny I could definitely feel it’s Keel bone but I’m not sure what is going on with it?? Seems to be puffed up as well. Otherwise looks healthy. I don’t think it’s broody-any insight?

 

[nuthatched]

Sounds broody, what makes you think she's not? Any other symptoms?

 

[TropicalBabies]

I have a chicken that has been sitting and it’s nesting box for probably over two weeks we keep kicking it out and when it goes out, it goes over and drinks water, and then walks around chirps a bunch and then just goes back to the nesting box. it seems to be skinny I could definitely feel it’s Keel bone but I’m not sure what is going on with it?? Seems to be puffed up as well. Otherwise looks healthy. I don’t think it’s broody-any insight?

Sounds broody to me but lets check a few things off of the list.
When was the last time she laid an egg? How is her poop, stance?

Does she growl at you when you remover her? Does she lay a little flatter and fluffier in the nest box? If you say yes to the last 3 q's you have a broody.
Do you have a solo cage, broody breaker or dog crate?
The if it were me scenario- after I ruled out she was not just egg bound- but at 2 weeks, if she was egg bound she would most likely not have made it this far so I am going on the assumption she is broody.
Place her in a cage, dog crate (you get the picture) alone, w/o any nesting materials. It is a good time for you to get some weight back on her so spoil her with some yummy high protein snacks along with her 24/7 feed and fresh water with vitamins if you have. Keep her in there for 3 days and she should snap out of it. If not,, put her back in and give her that spa treatment again.
She may get all kinds of fussy with you thinking she has eggs to get back to but stay strong. Unless she is hatching eggs, there is no need to put your hen through the broody process. Break her is best and make the most of it by spoiling her and putting that weight back on her.

 

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

Yeah she sounds broody to me. Like others have said, does she growl when you try to move her or stick her feathers up to make herself bigger?

 

[TropicalBabies]

Yeah she sounds broody to me. Like others have said, does she growl when you try to move her or stick her feathers up to make herself bigger?

Oh my gosh I got such the visual...

 

[debgoody]

She doesn’t growl , let’s me pick her right up, but everything you mention she does. What are some good protein snacks? And what vitamins do you recommend?

 

[rosemarythyme]

She doesn't need snacks and vitamins. If you're not planning to hatch, best to break her. Sounds like she's lost some weight from having sat for 2 weeks already.

Broody jail: Put her in an isolation cage with some food and water, in sight of the others (in the coop if it's not too hot or in/near the run is ideal). A wire cage elevated to air flow under her would be the best option, however I've used everything from a brooder to a dog exercise pen.

Keep her in the cage around the clock for about 2 days. At that time, if she's shows fewer signs of broodiness (puffing up, flattening down and growling, tik tik tik noise) you can let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest at any point (usually they don't do it immediately, but maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour) then she's not yet sufficiently broken and needs to go back to the cage for another 24 hours. Then let her out and test her again. Repeat until she's no longer going to the nest box.

IF the isolation cage is not safe for overnight stay (i.e. sits outside the run) then put her on the roost at night, and retrieve her from the nest box the next morning and put her back in the cage. It may take a little longer this way but better than letting a predator get to her.

 

[aart]

Sounds broody to me too.
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.

I'll repeat @rosemarythyme ....

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.

After 48 hours I let her out of crate 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.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have a chicken that has been sitting and it’s nesting box for probably over two weeks we keep kicking it out and when it goes out,

My test of whether a hen is broody is that she spends two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal spot. I don't worry about all that other stuff, they are signs she might be broody. Not all hens that show those signs are broody enough to deserve eggs. Not all broody hens show all those signs. Two consecutive nights on the nest is my test. It may fail me one day but hasn't yet.

it seems to be skinny

Before a hen even starts to lay an egg she stores excess fat, often a lot of excess fat. That fat is put there for her to live off of while she is broody so she can incubate her eggs instead of having to spend her day off the nest looking for food. It's normal for a broody hen to lose weight. That's not a problem, it's just fat put there for that purpose.

What are some good protein snacks? And what vitamins do you recommend?

I personally do not feed my broody hens anything special since nature took care of her needs. It won't hurt to give her treats and that might make you feel better. You and how you feel are an important part of this too. A good treat in small amounts are Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS). BOSS is high in proteins but also high in oil. The oil is good for her feathers, should make them nice and shiny, but don't overdo them. Mealworms are another good treat.

If you are not giving her eggs to hatch or baby chicks to raise I think the best treatment is to break her from being broody. That way she starts replacing that fat she has used up and can eventually return to laying eggs.

 

[TropicalBabies]

She doesn’t growl , let’s me pick her right up, but everything you mention she does. What are some good protein snacks? And what vitamins do you recommend?

What a sweet girl not to growl mine get downright scary.
Feed stores often carry vitamins that you can put in their water if you choose to go that route. I have learned to keep an assortment of liquid vitamins on hand- from a B12, Nutra drench to vitamins with electrolytes or iron. Because she has been on the nest for 2 +weeks and is thin I would more than consider this. If breaking her at first signs of broody I would not worry so much, if at all.
My access to meal worms pre raising my own was more than slim and my girls wont eat sunflower seeds IDK weird. I often rely on vitamins and order mine from Amazon for a little less $$ than my feed store. It has been an awesome tool.
Other awesome snacks- think protein and chickens eat just about everything. As stated above- don't over do, just add. 24/7 feed & clean water while the spell is being broken is a wonderful thing. Congratulations on your first broody!