Hen not laying eggs but in the box all day and night

[PoultryCQ]

Embarrassingly, I didn’t know this! So I’ll go ahead and ask another embarrassing question...what candy I do? When will she lay again?

You would have to break her out of her broodiness to get more eggs. It may take weeks for her to start laying again.

 

[PoultryCQ]

She hasn’t pecked me, but in the past she has gotten upset and vocal. She’s definitely puffing up, and even walks around puffed up. I meant to mention that in my post.

Then she is broody, do you want chicks?

 

[Little Baby Bean]

You can either hatch out chicks or break her broodiness.

 

[lunahills]

We don’t have a roo so there’s nothing to hatch, but I was reading another post that suggests putting her in “broody jail” like a dog crate, which I do already have. I think I’ll do this so that I can force her to eat and drink...it’s been way too hot for her to sit in the coop not drinking.

 

[Little Baby Bean]

Sounds good!

 

[lunahills]

What brings this on? Should I have stopped her from sitting in the nest a few days ago? I’ve had to do so in the past but never let it go on for more than a day or so.

 

[PoultryCQ]

What brings this on? Should I have stopped her from sitting in the nest a few days ago? I’ve had to do so in the past but never let it go on for more than a day or so.

That alone "may" break them for being broody, but if they sit for too long, it may take a long time to break. The thing about a broody jail is that you want her to release her broody hormones. Try to get airflow underneath her somehow...

 

[Little Baby Bean]

Some hens just feel the need to have chicks sometimes. We have had more than 5 broodies this summer. Well I don't think that it matters all that much as long as she hasn't been broody for more than a week or something. It just takes a little longer to break if they have been broody for a while.

 

[Painted Calls]

What brings this on? Should I have stopped her from sitting in the nest a few days ago? I’ve had to do so in the past but never let it go on for more than a day or so.

Hormones.

It's always best to break them as soon as they start showing signs. Make sure you put nothing in the crate except food and water. No tray on the bottom. Raise it up at least 8-12 inches to get good airflow from underneath.

 

[Painted Calls]

Most dog crates will need a layer of hardware cloth cut to fit on the bottom as the holes are too big.