Depressed Chicken?

[sarahbellum]

Hi All,

This is my first time posting.

2 weeks ago I rescued 2 chickens from 2 different animal shelters. It is my first time having chickens since I was a kid - back then I had about 13 Japanese who lived upwards of 15 years old, never got sick, and I never needed to do anything with them other than throw food at them occasionally.

One of my recently rescued chickens - an Old English hen - has been just sitting in her nesting box for the last 3 days and she hasn't laid any eggs. When I first got her she was laying an egg a day and very "spunky" and always running around the yard and picking on the Plymouth Rock, so it seems like her behavior has changed.

I have been taking her out of her box and putting her in the yard - she eats and then goes back to her box. Her poops are normal. I need to figure out how to check her crop and find out where that is.

It's been really hot lately - high 90's. The other chicken (the Plymouth Rock) doesn't seem to mind, though.

I've never wormed a chicken before. Do they really need that? Should I look into getting a wormer?

Thanks for any advice.

Sarah

 

[Firefighter Chick]

perhaps she's broody

 

[chicmom]

Sounds like she could be broody. If she just sort of scurries around quickly, eats, drinks, poops and then goes right back into the nest box, plus she's not laying....those are signs of a broody hen. Maybe you could give her a few eggs to set on.....

 

[sarahbellum]

That's probably it! I'll just leave her alone. It'll be nice to have a break from the eggs. My husband and I don't eat eggs and the chickens are just pets, so we've been struggling to give them all away to everyone we know

 

[chicmom]

Quote:
She might be broody for a month or so....Don't worry, she'll come out of it on her own good time.....It's sort of a hormonal thing.....