Is she egg bound, hot, sick, or what?

[Jasper7952]

Ok, I'm a chicken newbie, but I have a young Rhode Island Red hen that was laying one egg almost everyday when I brought her home. She continued laying her small eggs until all of a sudden one day - no eggs. She sits on the nest for hours at a time, but does get up to eat, drink, and take dust baths. When I approach her in the nest box she fluffs all up and pecks a little at me, but for the most part she lets me feel her abdomen with very little fuss. Her vent seems fine and I cannot feel any eggs inside her. Once again, I am new to this, so I may not be feeling the right area: behind her ribs & toward her rump. She has not laid a single egg in over a week and a half - very unusual for her. The weather turned very hot (mid to upper 90's) about the time she stopped giving eggs, but we had a break in the weather for about 4 or 5 days and still no eggs. Another hen stopped laying at the same time, but she doesn't sit in the nest like the Red and she has recently given me a couple of eggs over a 4 day period. The same day they both stopped laying I caught the neighbor's dog barking at the coop and run and even tried to dig her way in. She did no damage, but could that be a factor? Sorry this is so long, but I'm trying to give ALL the details.

"Concerned Newbie"

 

[Eliza]

your hen has gone broody. that means that she wants to sit on eggs and hatch them. kick her off the nest, or find some fertile eggs and stick them under her.

 

[Jasper7952]

Even though she is laying no eggs? I had golf balls in each nest box in hopes of encouraging laying, but since that wasn't working for her, I removed them just in case she was trying to hatch THEM!

 

[Eliza]

yep. I had two go broody on me, and I had no eggs under them. They sat, and sat and sat sat sat. I finally gave them fertile eggs to sit on. They have micro peeps now and are very happy

 

[Suziers]

My chickens haven't started laying yet-but I had a question related to the original post. If a hen would go broody and you put some fertile eggs under her-and they hatched-would it be ok for them to stay in there with her-or is best to separate the Mom and chicks until they are older?

Also-what is the 'usual' ratio of eggs that actual hatch to eggs that don't? 50%?