Frizzle hen sitting on nothing, won't eat!

[HuskerHens18]

I have had broody hens before, in fact I have 4 now sitting on eggs.
But this Frizzle bantam, she is sitting on NOTHING. No rocks, no sticks, not even dust!

Last week I found her sitting on top of a nesting box, not in it. She wouldn't come down to eat the cabbage treat I was handing out. So I went to pick her up and she attacked my hand like a mommy hen does. I went ahead and picked her up, she's picked her breast and stomach bare. I put her on the floor and she began eating, so I left.

Next day she was back up there, still no eggs, still aggressive. But this time I couldn't get her to eat, she'd just fly back up there. It's 4ft off the ground.

This has gone on a WEEK! Now she's getting very thin and I'm concerned for her health.
I tried giving her eggs but she kicked them out!

What do I do? I love her and don't want to watch her starve herself to death. There is currently a hen INSIDE the nesting box so I don't want to move it, but at this point I'll do what's necessary.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Sounds like she's broody, she won't lay while she's broody & not eating so I would break her. Put her in a wire cage & suspend it so the air flows under the cage, no shavings, just food & water, you can keep the cage in the coop so she's still part of the flock.

You tried giving her eggs, that didn't work. Giving her chick probably won't work either, I think best to break her.

 

[Pigpie]

You do your hens no favors by allowing them to sit to no effect. Break her from sitting unless you have plans to put a clutch of eggs under her. Also sitting hens are masters at knowing when and how much tucker to eat. Personally I recommend culling with extreme predigest any hen who leaves the nest every day to eat. Her heart is not into being a mother. Besides, a sitting hen eating each and every day is not natural and she may well soil a whole nest full of eggs for you, meaning that none of the eggs will hatch, and a fat hen may just crush some eggs for you and ruin the whole clutch of eggs. If she has her very own nursery coop or pen then by all means keep food and water in the pen but by all means keep these items OUT of and away from the nest.

A broody hen still needs to eat, I think culling them for eating is a bit harsh. They will be awful mother's if they die from starvation....

 

[HuskerHens18]

I put my hens off the nest to eat and dust bathe if they don't do it themselves. I want my broody hens healthy, conditioned, and not parasite/disease vulnerable. They have to be off of the nest for half an hour. I think that a too-determined hen is an undesirable trait.

To the OP, though I said the above, your hen sounds like a right idiot with badly mutated instincts. I wouldn't hatch any eggs from her, even under another hen.

Yeah, I expected her to be a little bit more intelligent since she was a cochin Frizzle. I've only heard good things about them and it seems she had other plans my Sizzle and RIR/cochin mixes seem to be doing okay so far on their nest. I'm candling their eggs tonight so hopefully that gives them a break to eat/drink/bathe!

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

You could get some chicks from somewhere and put them under her when it’s dark but she might end up abandoning them. Or you could try different ways of getting her off.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Sounds like she's broody, she won't lay while she's broody & not eating so I would break her. Put her in a wire cage & suspend it so the air flows under the cage, no shavings, just food & water, you can keep the cage in the coop so she's still part of the flock.

You tried giving her eggs, that didn't work. Giving her chick probably won't work either, I think best to break her.

I can do that! Thank you! I will do it ASAP, I should've asked for help sooner.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Try get her to eat, sounds like she's wasting away. Maybe some meal worms, boiled egg yolk, cat food, wet her feed with plain yogurt, some Nutri Drench .... Good luck

 

[sylviethecochin]

You do your hens no favors by allowing them to sit to no effect. Break her from sitting unless you have plans to put a clutch of eggs under her. Also sitting hens are masters at knowing when and how much tucker to eat. Personally I recommend culling with extreme predigest any hen who leaves the nest every day to eat. Her heart is not into being a mother. Besides, a sitting hen eating each and every day is not natural and she may well soil a whole nest full of eggs for you, meaning that none of the eggs will hatch, and a fat hen may just crush some eggs for you and ruin the whole clutch of eggs. If she has her very own nursery coop or pen then by all means keep food and water in the pen but by all means keep these items OUT of and away from the nest.

I put my hens off the nest to eat and dust bathe if they don't do it themselves. I want my broody hens healthy, conditioned, and not parasite/disease vulnerable. They have to be off of the nest for half an hour. I think that a too-determined hen is an undesirable trait.

To the OP, though I said the above, your hen sounds like a right idiot with badly mutated instincts. I wouldn't hatch any eggs from her, even under another hen.

 

[HuskerHens18]

You do your hens no favors by allowing them to sit to no effect. Break her from sitting unless you have plans to put a clutch of eggs under her. Also sitting hens are masters at knowing when and how much tucker to eat. Personally I recommend culling with extreme predigest any hen who leaves the nest every day to eat. Her heart is not into being a mother. Besides, a sitting hen eating each and every day is not natural and she may well soil a whole nest full of eggs for you, meaning that none of the eggs will hatch, and a fat hen may just crush some eggs for you and ruin the whole clutch of eggs. If she has her very own nursery coop or pen then by all means keep food and water in the pen but by all means keep these items OUT of and away from the nest.

Oh I'd never cull a perfectly fine chicken, my chickens are pets only. I understand why someone who bred chickens or sold eggs would, but my chickens are family. I'd never had to break a hen before, so I didn't know what to do. ChickNanny13 told me how and today my hen is eating and drinking. My hens are more important to me than their eggs, I have an incubator that does the work without endangering anyone's health. I'll let the 4 others sit on their nests for now since my incubator is full, tonight I'm candling the Broodies' eggs. I'm hoping for Sizzles and Cochins/silkie mixes!
Thank you for the advice though, all is appreciated.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Try get her to eat, sounds like she's wasting away. Maybe some meal worms, boiled egg yolk, cat food, wet her feed with plain yogurt, some Nutri Drench .... Good luck

She's already eating, drinking, and walking around the crate! Thank you so much! She worried me there for a while