HELP! Something is wrong with my chicken.

[MountainMama1]

One of my chickens, about 7 months old, is acting very strange. She's staying in her nest outside the pen, where she typically escapes to in order to lay. She's been there for 5 days. She hasn't laid an egg in 4 or 5 days. At first I thought she just wanted a baby. But now I'm worried. She's not eating or drinking, unless I take her out of the nest and put her back in the pen. After a few minutes she jumps back out and goes to her bush. I was thinking maybe she was eggbound, but when i put my finger up there I didn't feel anything. She's definitely hot though. I noticed she's loosing her feathers on the underside too. When you take her out of the nest and put her on the ground she just sits there...after a while she'll get up. What should I do?

 

[MountainMama1]

She's definitely loosing weight too. We have a flock of sparrows that won't leave the coop alone too. So I'm wondering if she caught something from them.

 

[chickenzoo]

It sounds like she is broody and sitting on eggs. They will eat very little or drink while brooding but keep it near by her. They stop laying...They will pull feathers off their belly so the heat from their body warms the eggs. If she starts losing a lot of weight, you may want to worm her just encase.

 

[Big A Chickens]

Yes, sounds like she has definitely gone broody. What type is she?

 

[MountainMama1]

Black Sex Link is what the guy told us. I hope that's the case and she's not sick. She felt very very hot when I put my finger in her vent. But I guess that would make sense if she's trying to warm an egg. I just got her to eat some yogurt with feed on top so I guess that's good.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

x2 Sounds like she is broody. This is normal behavior. Some breeds of chickens are broodier than others. My cochin is broody a lot. If you have any fertalized eggs you can give them to her and she will hatch them. I do not have a rooster so when my hen goes broody I just leave her be and put a little water by her and give her a fake egg to sit on. She will probably get down once every other day or so to eat something but wont eat or poop a lot. That is normal. Mine usually gives up after 2 or 3 weeks. She will be very grumpy.

There are some threads in on hear about how to "break them" so they stop being broody but unless you really need her eggs right away for some reason I would just leave her alone. She is fine and just doing normal girl-chicken things.

 

[jak2002003]

The hen is broody. Being hot, loosing feathers on her breast, staying on the next, stopped laying eggs, not moving much when you take her off the nest. ............ these are all sure signs she is broody.

If you want some chicks, then leave her. She will take care of herself and the eggs. They only leave the nest a couple of times a day to have a feed and drink, usually when they can not see you around!

She won't starve herself, as long as food and water are always available.

No more need to stick you finger in certain places!

If you don't want her to hatch the eggs, or if you have no roosters to have fertilised them, you need to put her in a wire bottom cage with food and water for a few days to break her instincts to brood.

 

[MountainMama1]

what a relief! Glad i don't have to go poking around down there anymore. It wasn't pleasant...for either of us. We don't have a rooster, as we live in town. Would a golf ball do the trick? or should i just give her an egg to sit on. I don't NEED her to lay, I was just worried she was sick.
Thanks so much for the responses!

 

[Big A Chickens]

Also according to chicken anatomy, an adult chickens normal body temperature is around 103 degrees F. That could also be the reason why she felt hot to you also.

 

[terryg]

Broody hens not only have a higher body temp, but they pull out their breast feathers so that their hot skin will have direct contact with their eggs. You can stop a hen from being broody by putting her in an anti-broody coop. Directions here: http://hencam.com/faq/the-broody-hen/