GRUMPY HEN>>>>>

californiachick74

Songster
11 Years
Apr 2, 2008
127
0
129
Southern California
Hi everyone,

Can anyone tell me why a hen would just sit as if she was hatching or laying an egg all day long? I have this hen that has been sitting in a corner of our chicken house since Thurs. I have no idea if she is getting up to eat or drink. She doesnt look dehydrated or anything. I have tried to coax her with grapes (her favorite) and she wont get up. When I approach her she will puff her feathers and like growl at me...LOL..but she is definatley telling me to stay away. Also this hen will collect the other hens eggs and sit on them. Advice to this behavior is welcome..PLEASE! Should I be concerned she has an egg stuck?
 
well...can u pick her up to check if there is an egg stuck???..
hu.gif
..the smarties on here will be able to help ya...good luck, Wendy
 
Yup, she's gone broody. She wants to sit on and hatch some babies!

You have a couple of options:

1) Do you want her to hatch chicks? If yes and you have a rooster that's been around for a few weeks (and is old enough to do the job) you can give her some fertile eggs to sit on and hatch. It takes roughly 21 days to hatch an egg.

Or, if you don't have a Roo or fertile eggs on your property you can quickly get some from someone else who does and put them under her to hatch.

2) If you don't want her to hatch eggs then you need to convince her to stop being broody. This is much easier said than done most of the time. You can keep going out and physically removing her from her nest area. Sometimes after a few days of being thrown (not literally) off the nest they'll get over it but not usually.

Or, you can put her in an all wire dog crate with no bedding material, just food and water. Some people say to hang it in the air to get air circulating under her bum, others say just let it sit on the ground. This procedure has worked for several people here but usually takes several days up to a week.


Good luck on whatever you decide to do.
 
So what will happen if I just leave her be???? I keep continuing to go in there and disturb her and I also keep removing the eggs from under her. I dont want any babies!!!! I do have a roo and I am sure some of the eggs are probably fertile but I collect daily so to avoid babies....Will she ever get over this?
 

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