Hello from Hawaii

[Alohaher]

I’m a new chicken mama, 6 months in. My favorite hen a buff Orpington who lays two eggs a day often, she’s broody and on day 18. She’s looking very rough and is not drinking water. And getting sloppy and not all eggs getting covered up like before. I’m gonna take a syringe to force water down her beak and carry her to a dust bath. I’m thinking to pull the eggs on the edges that are suddenly exposed into an incubator inside.
She was looking rough and a bit underweight or missing feathers a lil bit before she started going broody.
I work in a nonprofit helping youth; a mom to 3 grown girls; with 3 cats. I’m married to a long term educator.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

You might want to post the details about your hen in our Incubating and Hatching Eggs forum.

It sounds like she was molting prior to going broody?

If this was earlier in the incubation, I might have pulled all of the eggs. Since she's only got three days left, I'd let her finish it out. Be sure to have a feeder with chick crumbles nearby and she'll eat those as well as the chicks.

As for the eggs on the edge of her nest, can you candle those? She might be rotating them around. If she had too many eggs to start with, there may be some dead ones in there.

We're glad you're here!

 

[muddy75]

 

[Bsmac]

Hello! Welcome to BYC! I hope all turns out well for your hen!

 

[pnw_urban_chix]

Hi and welcome to BYC!

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC. I agree with @Debbie292d
At this point pulling the eggs might break her and then you will have motherless chicks. No one does a better job of raising chicks than a broody hen.

 

[KtheChickenGal]

I’m a new chicken mama, 6 months in. My favorite hen a buff Orpington who lays two eggs a day often, she’s broody and on day 18. She’s looking very rough and is not drinking water. And getting sloppy and not all eggs getting covered up like before. I’m gonna take a syringe to force water down her beak and carry her to a dust bath. I’m thinking to pull the eggs on the edges that are suddenly exposed into an incubator inside.
She was looking rough and a bit underweight or missing feathers a lil bit before she started going broody.
I work in a nonprofit helping youth; a mom to 3 grown girls; with 3 cats. I’m married to a long term educator.

Welcome to BYC!!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I would not force syringe water down her beak. It's very easy to aspirate your chicken that way. Just take her off the nest, give her a little shove to break her broody trance and let her go get food and water on her own. Stick around and monitor the nest and make sure she gets back on. That's how I manage my broody hens breaks daily until the eggs start externally pipping.

 

[Alohaher]

Thanks everyone. I posted in a few threads before I realized I needed to post here.
I think she may have mites, she is so pale and lethargic. It’s day 18 and want to figure out how to address mites while not stressing her out and protecting the unmatched chicks, which some say aren’t to be moved at this point? Immersing her in water might be too stressful for her?
I carried her to dirt bath but she wasn’t interested but she did appear attacked by mites by her actions. So I sprinkled dirt all through her feathers. Some on here say DE is better so I can go buy it and sprinkle it on her?
We have one feed store open today so I can try to get fresh bedding and carefully pull out each egg and then put back after treating the box with DE