helpless, and new.

[ten chicks]

I have just checked her crop amd it feels grainy. I also checked her vent and I could not feel anything.
I thought she coild be broody when the last egg she laid she sat on it all day. But I took it away from her.

Taking away their eggs does not stop them from being broody.
Make sure she has access to grit living inside home.

 

[the lone hen]

Everyones input has been so very helpful and i thank you all for yiur help. I feel now she may be broody but just a couple more questions for my peace of mind. 1. Is it normal that she has not and will not poop as usual. 2.is it normal that she has not stood up for 4 days. 3. And from what I have read this could go on for up to 3 weeks?

 

[pwand]

Heres a video of a broody hen.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/08/caring-for-broody-hens-facilitating-egg.html

 

[cgmccary]

1. Is it normal that she has not and will not poop as usual. Yes, normal. If broody, she will not poop in her nest but wait and poop the one time she gets off her nest.

2.is it normal that she has not stood up for 4 days. Yes. They usually get off the nest once each day to relieve themselves, sometimes a dust bath, drink water. usually, a hen will stay off 15 minutes up to one hour.

3. And from what I have read this could go on for up to 3 weeks? Usually longer -- usually, you have to break them up.

 

[KayTee]

1. Is it normal that she has not and will not poop as usual. Yes, normal. If broody, she will not poop in her nest but wait and poop the one time she gets off her nest.

2.is it normal that she has not stood up for 4 days. Yes. They usually get off the nest once each day to relieve themselves, sometimes a dust bath, drink water. usually, a hen will stay off 15 minutes up to one hour.

3. And from what I have read this could go on for up to 3 weeks? Usually longer -- usually, you have to break them up.

I agree with cgmccary, but I would add that if she is not getting off the nest of her own accord, you need to pick her up and take her out into the garden (if she free ranges) or run (if she doesn't) at least once or twice a day, to make certain that she moves a bit and has a chance to poop.

Also, a serious broody can continue to brood for several weeks, waiting for non-existent eggs to hatch. Some hens give up after the normal 21 day incubating period, but some are determined to wait it out. My sister had a broody who still wouldn't give up after 4 weeks, so she gave her a couple of fertilised eggs, and the broody hatched them out - a total of 7 weeks on the nest! If you don't have access to fertilised eggs, you can put chicks under a broody hen after the three weeks are up. I've done this twice with day-old chicks - worked both times.

 

[Bossom-hen]

I have just checked her crop amd it feels grainy. I also checked her vent and I could not feel anything.
I thought she coild be broody when the last egg she laid she sat on it all day. But I took it away from her.

Often taking the egg away is not enough to stop a hen frombeing broody. I don't know anything about grainy crops though.

 

[the lone hen]

She seems just fine now I know what is going on with her. Still in the same spot, still no poop and still no eggs but she looks and feels healthy. She is free range so I will take her downstairs into the yard and let her ponder there for a while. Thanks for all the help.

 

[AmericanMom]

Out of all the hens I have had I have only dealt with one broody, My BA, although most hens will get off their nest once a day to eat and poop mine did not, after the fourth day I literally had to pick her up and move her off her nest, it took her a bit to be able to walk which thankfully she did, I made her some boiled yolk which she gobbled up, drank some water and then holy cow, did she poop... All through her broodiness until the chicks hatched I had to physically take her off the nest every two days to poop, I moved her food and water close but she still hardly ate or drank anything.. I got worried that she would starve herself before the chicks were hatched but in the end she was fine, hatched out all 5 chicks on the 18th day (yep,she was determined) raised them, laid a few eggs and then molted...The molt has been harder on her than being broody...

 

[AmericanMom]

She seems just fine now I know what is going on with her. Still in the same spot, still no poop and still no eggs but she looks and feels healthy. She is free range so I will take her downstairs into the yard and let her ponder there for a while. Thanks for all the help.

If you want her to raise chicks get some fertile eggs and place them under her, if you don't there are ways to break her from being broody, one trick I learned but have never tried is to place them in a wire cage off the ground, the cool air under her may bring her out of her broodiness.

 

[Bossom-hen]

If you want her to raise chicks get some fertile eggs and place them under her, if you don't there are ways to break her from being broody, one trick I learned but have never tried is to place them in a wire cage off the ground, the cool air under her may bring her out of her broodiness.

The above works very quickly (usually within 3 days and nights), put food and drink in with her but nothing else. If you don't want to hatch chicks being broody can go on for a long while and is not beneficial to her health.