ccoscina
Chirping
- Nov 10, 2021
- 85
- 179
- 91
I have a hen that has been acting strange lately, but I'm not sure whether it's sickness or brooding. I had broody hens before, but a few months ago one of my hens passed away from being sick, and so now I'm extra cautious. That was the only time I've lost a chicken to sickness in the three years that I've been raising my flock.
This chicken is staying on the nest almost all the time. That's normal for a broody hen, but the chicken that died recently was also sitting down alot, sometimes in a nest (I believe it was either egg bound or had sour crop). Last time I didn't really know what to do until it was too late, but I'm worried this one could be egg bound so I gave her a warm Epsom salt bath. I also fed her a crushed tums mixed with mealworms, and the next day fed her scrambled eggs with the eggshell crushed up in it. She gobbled it all up and does have more of an appetite than the chicken that died. I don't normally feed my chickens eggs because I don't want them to eat eggs but this is an exceptional case, because it's hard to get her to eat tums but she will happily eat scrambled eggs with eggshell for some extra calcium.
She doesn't eat as much because she wants to stay on the nest but if I hand feed her she gobbles it up. When I bring out the chicken feed I forced her to get up and eat yesterday but she was really pissed off at me for doing that. She gobbled down a bunch of food just fine then drank some water and hopped right back up on the nest. She appears very awake and alert.
I also checked her vent and lubed her up with some vaseline. I didn't feel any eggs in there, she's probably really annoyed with me now. Whenever I take her off the nest she makes sounds like she's in distress. I'll attach a picture of her - it looks like she pecked off some feathers around her butt which they say is normal for broody hens.
This chicken is staying on the nest almost all the time. That's normal for a broody hen, but the chicken that died recently was also sitting down alot, sometimes in a nest (I believe it was either egg bound or had sour crop). Last time I didn't really know what to do until it was too late, but I'm worried this one could be egg bound so I gave her a warm Epsom salt bath. I also fed her a crushed tums mixed with mealworms, and the next day fed her scrambled eggs with the eggshell crushed up in it. She gobbled it all up and does have more of an appetite than the chicken that died. I don't normally feed my chickens eggs because I don't want them to eat eggs but this is an exceptional case, because it's hard to get her to eat tums but she will happily eat scrambled eggs with eggshell for some extra calcium.
She doesn't eat as much because she wants to stay on the nest but if I hand feed her she gobbles it up. When I bring out the chicken feed I forced her to get up and eat yesterday but she was really pissed off at me for doing that. She gobbled down a bunch of food just fine then drank some water and hopped right back up on the nest. She appears very awake and alert.
I also checked her vent and lubed her up with some vaseline. I didn't feel any eggs in there, she's probably really annoyed with me now. Whenever I take her off the nest she makes sounds like she's in distress. I'll attach a picture of her - it looks like she pecked off some feathers around her butt which they say is normal for broody hens.
