help my broody hen lost alot of weight and acts sick, she passed away

[blueseal]

.she is a golden laced wyandotte standard breed. she went broody in january , i decided to let her hatchout eggs in febuary. she hatched 3 out of 6 on march 15th. i gave her layer mash and water until the chicks were born and had to seperate the laying mash from the chicks. so she was eating chick starter for 5 weeks. i read somewhere it said the chick starter wont harm the mother hen . what could have caused her to lose so much weight . she looks like a bantam now. she stands crouched with her eyes closed sometimes. she has her own layer mash feeder but hardly touches it and i threw in some bread in the chicken run and hardly touches that.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Broody hens don't eat much, and she's been broody 2 months.. Maybe that's why she is skinny. But not eating sounds more like she is sick.

Good luck,
Imp

 

[blueseal]

she passed away over night found her this morning . rip momma hen.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

I am so sorry for your loss. I suspect she hasn't been eating enough while she was sitting the eggs. Did you make sure she got off the eggs every day? I have had a hen who would not get off & tried to attack me when I lifted her off. You have to be very firm about it & they soon get used to eating,drinking, poo-ing & preening themselves & then returning to the eggs.

I was given some very good advice when I started keeping chickens years ago. I was told to only feed mixed corn (no pellets, no mash & no treats) & water to a broody hen. They need this diet & her eggs will stay clean. They don't eat much anyway & a couple of days before the hatching date don't force them off the eggs; leave them in peace with some water & food nearby. The chick crumbs you feed the hatched chickens are fine for the mother for a few days but I wouldn't encourage letting her continue to eat them ' especially if they are medicated ones (I only use an unmedicated feed) because the medication can affect the growth of the hen. I add chopped chives & chick-weed to the chick crumbs & later finely chopped apple & cooked egg. I put cider vinegar in their water along with garlic. They thrive on this.''Later I give them bunches of dandelion leaves to peck on, gradually trying out other greens etc. I have never had any problems with poopy behinds from all the greens but keep a close eye on them.

Once again I'm sorry you lost her -- it does occasionally happen. Better luck next time.

I hope the chicks do well!

Hattie