Emergency Broody Hen

[BobbieB7]

Please advise
My lady has been on eggs expecting to hatch next Thursday.
I have her in a large dog crate in coop with everything she needs.
Yesterday was the first day she took a large stinky poo.
This morning all was fine.
Went in now to see if she ate and drank.
She was just standing up.
She actually attacked me getting out of crate.
Her fuzzy butt isn’t so fuzzy
It’s actually dripping liquid and her bottom feathers under vent are soaked. Like just having a bath soaked.
And smells awful
She dripped like a stream as she made her way across coop and out into run.
She ate and drank a lot.
Meanwhile I removed eggs , which really weren’t soaking wet. Cleaned and replaced all bedding.
I placed eggs back in a circle.
Some are hot and some are cool.
Has she given up?
What should I do about butt.
It’s 7pm I think to late for bath even if I blow dry her.
Can she sit on eggs like this until tomorrow? Praying she goes back to eggs
Most important how long can eggs be let without her on them?
If she doesn’t brood on them I’ll need to borrow incubator!
I’m so worried
I went from 110% eggcited to a ~10 immediate stop.
Please advise
This is my first broody

 

[NorthernMIFlock]

Has she gone back to eggs? Did you recently move her? I’m confused about her wet butt, like diarrhea? Is her crate always left open so she can get in and out for poop/food/water?

 

[BobbieB7]

I moved her two weeks ago when Inwas able to get fertilized eggs.
She was in nest box I moved her to crate. Candles at 7 days and 13 days . I was old not to touch after 14days
Yesterday I had to clean where she took large poo.
Didn’t move her or eggs.
No it doesn’t appear to be diarrhea! Just liquad pouring out.
Although her feathers under vent look like what a bad case of vent gleet would looks like without stuck on poo.
Very wet and stinky.
I haven’t left crate open.
Should I ?
I figured keep it shut so other ladies wouldn’t disturb her.
She wasn’t like this on day 12 or 13 when I candles eggs.
Could she have tried to lay an egg and it broke.
When she ran to go into run the liquid was a lot
She ate and drank and got up on her favorite chair to roost and it was still dripping.
I let her have a break and put her back with eggs where she snuggled them under herself

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Is it possible one of the eggs was rotten and exploded under her? That would account for the horrible smell and her wet feathers, but I'm not sure about your description of "liquid pouring out." If a rotten egg exploded, you will need to bathe her asap in the morn, and possibly clean out the nest and replace with fresh bedding. Not only is she miserable, but the bacteria could contaminate the other eggs. If not a rotten egg, I have no idea what could have caused the scene you describe.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I reread your post and realized you did clean out the nest box. If the issue is not an exploded rotten egg, hopefully someone else will have ideas as to what the problem could be. Hoping that your broody and her eggs continue on to a sucessful hatch.

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

The #1 thing that caught my attention is that you keep the crate closed. Broody hens leave the nest once a day to eat and relieve themselves. It is a huge stinky poo. They do not like to defecate near the eggs.

If she had to poop and she couldn't get out, she would have been drinking only water and near exploded.

She needs to be cleaned in very warm water. Broody moms have a raised temperature and you want to maintain that. To dry her quickly, put her in front of a low speed fan outside. It's summer so it will be warm and she should be completely bone dry in less than 15 minutes.

Keep the eggs warm. Leave the door to the crate open.

 

[NorthernMIFlock]

I agree to allow her to go in and out freely. He flock mates won’t mess with her because they don’t lay their eggs there and she will prob screech at them if they get too close. Keep us posted!