Is she molting or sick?

[Alley]

No, she's not sitting on an egg. I took it from her. Is there anything I can do to help snap out of this?

 

[mtnhomechick]

You could try keeping her away from the nest box for a few days. Try to break the cycle. PM speckedhen......she's really good at this stuff. I only had the one incident and I was unsuccessful. Actually lots of people here could advise you. The thing is they get their mind made up that they are hatching something........doesn't even need to be an egg......and they won't eat or drink because they won't leave the nest box.

Try starting another post on how to break a broody hen. Hope it works.

Good Luck.

 

[Alley]

Thanks for the advise... I'll PM Speckedchen.

I thought it was a molt because of the feather loss.

 

[mtnhomechick]

could be both......I have 5 that age that are in a mini molt. Let me know what she says ok. Keep it posted.....

Mary

 

[Alley]

I will keep you informed and thanks again! I was at a loss as to what could be wrong.

 

[mtnhomechick]

Some people here have gotten fertile eggs and put them under the hen and they hatched.

Might be kind of fun.

 

[Alley]

Okay, she is broody! She was sitting on 2 eggs they must have laid late yesterday. When I opended the nesting box she growled at me but when I touched her she jumped up and ran out of the coop, screaming her head off in the process. She's still fluffed up but she's not picking at herself.

I cooked her some eggs and she's out in the yard scratching and eating like normal so far... I'll keep you informed!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
If she's staying off the nest then I doubt she was truly broody. She could have been having a hard time passing an individual egg. It's my understanding that true broodies rarely leave the nest.

 

[hinkjc]

She sounds like a typical broody to me. If she keeps going in the nest box and wants to sleep in it..move her to the roost after dark. Sometimes a couple nights of moving them is enough to break them if caught early. If that doesn't work you could try completely blocking off the nest box (remove it or staple screen over it so she can't get in. Or you could put her in an isolated wire pen for a few days with food and water. Make sure she doesn't have a cozy nest in there.

eta - on occasion, I even get "walking" broodies. They walk around all puffed up and complaining about everything. Spend some time in the nest and then out complaining again. Almost like they're not sure what they're supposed to do. Don't give those type of broodies any eggs.

 

[Alley]

She's back in her nesting box but I took her off and locked her out. She only wants to stay out long enough to eat the treats I give her and then she's back to the nest. She looks like crap, is all puffed up, dirty looking but she's eating, drinking and still has a red comb. This is a mystery to me as I'm new to having chickens.