Help! Hen stopped laying-stays in nest box

[nic8407]

I have two RIR hens I bought as 6 mo. old pullets. I've had them for about 2 months now and they both have been laying for about 6 wks. Now one of them has stopped laying, stays almost all day in her nest box. This has been going on for about a week now. The other one is behaving normally, goes outside, eats, lays eggs ect. Could she be egg bound? I've tried palpitating her abdomen, but I don't really know what I'm doing and I don't feel anything like an egg there. Any advise? Thanks. Tim

 

[TexasVet]

Could be she's broody, although I've never had a RIR brood. If you remove a broody from the nest and put her on the floor, she'll usually puff up and fuss at you. Sick hens will also hide in a nest. If she's sick, her comb would be pale, limp, or otherwise not healthy looking.

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[lauralou]

Could she be broody?

Does she puff her feathers up if you try to touch her? Make bizarre dinosaur squawks?

If so, she is broody, and wants to hatch out some eggs for you. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether or not you want more chickens. if you don't you'll have to break her of her broodiness. Putting her in a wire-bottomed cage for a few days should do the trick.

Hope that's all it is!

 

[goldnchocolate]

Does she looks like she is in a really bad mood....she may be broody. My RIR hen just turned a year and she went broody so I put 6 eggs under her. 20 days later she was the proud Mama of 3 chicks

. She is a nice and attentive mom, too. The chicks are 8 days old today.

 

[nic8407]

Thanks for your help ladies. Yes she "puffs" up when I approach her or pick her up. When I pick her up it's to put her in the run where her food and water is. She seems to be eating and drinking fine. She may also be leaving the nest to eat and drink on her own as well. I'm just not always there to observe. The question about her being broody for me is, she has no eggs to lay on! Does that make sense? I checked her comb, It feels similar to my other hen, but it's not "standing up" like the other ones. It's somewhat flopped over.I'm not sure about the color, it looks a little less rich in red color than the other one. Trouble is, I haven't paid attention as to weather is stood up or it's color before this event. My coop is pretty small 5'x5'x5' and I don't have a wire cage to isolate her in. Any other ideas for breaking her broodiness? Thanks again. Tim

 

[lauralou]

I have an Andalusin hen with a really tall comb. When she is broody it flops over, too. I'm not sure why. It also loses color, becomes pink instead of red.

There are lots of ideas on how to help break a broody hen. Some that come to mind are: Keep taking her off the nest, put a ziploc baggie of ice under her, dip her in cool water. Make sure she sleeps on the roost at night, instead of in the nestbox. Those last ones are designed to cool off her chest, and hopefully change her mood.

I bet if you did a search on broody hens, you'd find a lot more ideas.

Good luck with breaking her! Some hens can be very stubborn.

 

[grandmachick]

<><><>Sounds like she is "Broody", or "Setting". <><><>
Put her on the floor. If she is Broody she will make a "clucking like continous sound". If she eats & drinks, she is not sick. Check @ night,, if, she is "on-the-nest", instead of roosting. Then you can "set" some eggs under her. If you have other hens laying in the same nest., it is a great idea to try & encourage her to set on eggs in another place. But, if you don't have these means, or she insists on this nest. it will be Ok to let her set there, if you don't have many hens laying in THAT nest. Mark your "setting eggs", & collect the other hens' eggs daily. Use lead pencil only. (I use an X). <><><>Hope this helps.<><><>

 

[Bob Wadman]

How long should I keep a light on chicks?