How to fatten up a thin broody fast? VERY worried about our Momma hen

[caralouise1974]

Our broody has just finished her hatch (only one chick by the looks of things, but she's happy anyway) and I'm very worried about her condition. She's so very thin. She was broody for six weeks before we gave in and got her some fertile eggs to sit on, so that's nine weeks in total - too long really.

I'm giving her treats of scrambled egg and sunflower seeds, and letting her eat the high protein chick crumbs, but is there anything else I can do to get the weight back on her quickly?

She is a beloved pet and we can't bear to see her looking so pitiful. Picking her up and feeling the bones through her skin makes me want to cry.

 

[robin416]

You can mix in a little veggie oil, the one that is soy bean oil or pick up some rice oil in the horse section at the feed store. You don't want to use much.

You can cook up some pasta and give her some as a treat. Or some bread, just a little. You don't want her gorging on the junk and not getting the balanced nutrition she needs.

 

[cthrash1]

I had two little bowls in the front corners of the nest for my broody where she didn't even have to move just reach with her head. I had chick feed in the one so when the chicks hatched there would be food but momma had something to eat too when she got hungry. She also got off the nest daily for about 15 min.s to eat, drink and poo outside the coop.

 

[caralouise1974]

Thanks so much, I'll fetch some rice oil asap!

 

[caralouise1974]

Quote:
This doesn't seem to have worked for my broody - she had food and water available within easy reach all the time, and still sat in a trance and didn't bother to eat much. Silly girl!

 

[robin416]

With birds like that you can pull them off the nest to make them eat and drink and walk around. My day sometimes gets quite busy pulling broodies out of their nests, waking them up and forcing them to have to walk from one place to another to get food, water and to get back to their nests.

I only do this with the ones I don't see getting up or see a big decline in condition.

 

[caralouise1974]

She did seem to get up once every couple of days and run around like a lunatic and flap her wings for an hour or so, but I don't think she made much of an effort to eat.

I started off pulling her off the nest every day, but then figured that if she had the feed and water right under her beak, she'd do okay without me disturbing her all the time.

She clearly didn't eat anywhere near enough though. Poor thing.

 

[Rootball]

couple sticks of butter?

 

[caralouise1974]

Really?

How to you get her to eat butter?

I was actually thinking of getting one of those wild bird suet treats and giving her some of that... which I suppose is similar (in the sense that it is absolutely chock-full of fat!)

 

[robin416]

No butter!!!

Putting food and water next to the nest is not a good idea. They are not inclined to get up from the nest, can and do soil in the nest when all they have to do is stretch their necks.

But with very determined, dedicated broodies the human needs to step in and make them move. It prevents muscles from atrophying and gets thing moving that need to move.