is my pullet sick or she is bocoming broody?

[chickengr]

I have a 7-8 months old pullet who started to lay on dec 16th. she lays 5-6 eggs per week. she acts strangely for a couple of days, goes to the corners of their run and keeps laying for hours. she eats, lays less (4 eggs per week) the last week and looks like a teenager in love. she watches everything around her with interest and looks like a kind of surprised. I saw her yesterday eating while laying down. as I got worried that she couldn't walk I went to her and she jumped without problems. what is going on?

 

[Judy]

Maybe nothing. Broodiness is a possibility, but she should stop laying very soon if not now, if she is. Normally. once they lay their clutch of a handful of eggs, they stop laying and stay on their chosen nest 24/7, except for one outing a day. She could be headed in that direction. I actually wonder if she is just at the bottom of the pecking order, and trying to steer clear of getting pecked. But she could also be working on some sort of illness, maybe an infection somewhere, maybe a joint problem; so many possibilities. I think I would start weighing her, or at least pick her up to test her weight against the others, to see if she is losing weight. You can also see weight loss when the keel or breast bone sort of sticks out of their chest wall -- again, you might compare her to the others. Checking for lice/mites is always a good idea, if you haven't already thought of it. Most people don't begin worming until one year of age so I don't think I would go that route.

Good luck!

 

[chickengr]

Maybe nothing. Broodiness is a possibility, but she should stop laying very soon if not now, if she is. Normally. once they lay their clutch of a handful of eggs, they stop laying and stay on their chosen nest 24/7, except for one outing a day. She could be headed in that direction. I actually wonder if she is just at the bottom of the pecking order, and trying to steer clear of getting pecked. But she could also be working on some sort of illness, maybe an infection somewhere, maybe a joint problem; so many possibilities. I think I would start weighing her, or at least pick her up to test her weight against the others, to see if she is losing weight. You can also see weight loss when the keel or breast bone sort of sticks out of their chest wall -- again, you might compare her to the others. Checking for lice/mites is always a good idea, if you haven't already thought of it. Most people don't begin worming until one year of age so I don't think I would go that route.

Good luck!

thank you. well, she is fat and on the top of pecking order. is it possible that she is too fat and lazy? there are no parasites but she might have caught a cold. there are no eggs around, I pick them up as soon as they lay them. she looks ok but she is not as active as she was before and when she is laying around becomes fluffy. that reminds me of a broody hen. can she become broody if there are no eggs in the nest? it is too cold and I cannot let her sit on the eggs at this time of the year.

 

[Judy]

Chickens can certainly get too fat, and yes, they will sit as if hatching eggs when they are truly broody, even if there are no eggs. But unless she stays on the nest literally all the time, except once a day for a few minutes to take care of business, she is not yet truly broody, and maybe not even moving towards it.

Chickens don't get colds. There are a number of diseases they can get, though, plus they can become internal layers (egg peritoinitis) or get cancer, of the ovaries or anything else. If she shows any sign of respiraatory illness (sneezes, runny nose, etc.) these are symptoms of several chronic viral diseases which have no cure. Of course, an occasional sneeze can also just be dusty air!

Also, chickens can set on eggs in fairly cold weather,, and keep the eggs and the chicks warm with their body heat. I have had a broody raise chicks in 45F high days with no problem, and my experience is not unique. If she is actually broody and you want to hatch a few chicks, just give her plenty of hay or straw or the like to keep her off the cool wet ground. As I understand it (which is not well,) Greece is a fairly temperate country; I suspect your girl would do just fine.

 

[chickengr]

thank you very much for the detailed information. my pullet seems to bi fine today, just a bit lazy. she has been moving more today regarding the previous days. but I did cut down feed and let them forage more. they enjoyed it.