Jenna is not well

[Christine S]

Hello All.

My hen Jenna does not seem well. She has been broody for about 3 weeks. I've been taking her off the nest once a day to eat and drink. She takes care of business and then quickly returns to her nest.

A few days ago, she seemed to begin to come out of it. She would stay out longer, dust bathe with her sisters etc. Yesterday she came off the nest on her own and was off the nest nearly all day.

I noticed yesterday however, that she is very pale. This morning she is not eating and is pretty lethargic. She is still pale and rather puffed up. She feels thin to me, but as she hasn't been eating that well due to the broodiness, I'm not really surprised.

Does anyone have any ideas? Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

Christine

ps she is about a year old.

 

[chickensioux]

Broodiness always drives me crazy. I fret and fret. Has she ever been dewormed? It may be something to think about. Otherwise, if you want to seperate her (that will help break the broodiness too) and give her extra nutrition (yogurt, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese) you can try that to see if she perks back up for you. I have had to resort to putting a broody in a crate for a few days, with no bedding, to get her over it. Hope this helps and maybe someone else has another idea too.

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

I take it that she is actually on eggs.
Can she freely come and go off the eggs when she wants to?
When a hen goes broody her body needs change. She will lay her clutch of eggs and then go into set mode. Once she has begun to set then she will generally leave the nest, on her own, once a day for just a short time to eat, drink and poo. Depending on weather conditions and other factors such as possible predators will determine how long she is off the nest. As she gets closer to hatch time she will get more protective of her nest and fluff up and growl and anything that comes near. Towards the end, if you pull her off the nest she will many times just fluff up and stand there because her mind is only on hatching those eggs. Her body needs less and less. We have hens that many times will not leave the nest for 2 to 3 days. If we pull them off the nest they will just stand there all fluffed up in defense mode until we leave and then they will jump back on the nest. If your hen has been broody for 3 weeks then she is probably getting close to hatching. If she can freely get out to eat and drink then leave her be and she will go out if she needs to. If she can't get out then I would get a small feeder and waterer and place them near her so she doesn't have to travel far.
It sounds like your hen is perfectly normal and that you will soon have little fluffy butts running around if the eggs were viable.

 

[Supermommy486]

I can't help and I hope she feels better soon but I read the title of your post thinking...I feel fine...

 

[CMV]

I have a chronically broody hen who wouldn't snap out of it last year. She spent most of the spring and early summer in the coop until finally she broke out of it. When she re-joined the flock it was obvious by her appearance that the brooding had taken a lot out of her. She was thin and her comb was very pale. A couple weeks of being out and about she plumped right back up and her comb darkened in. I honestly wondered if her comb was so pale because she hadn't gotten any sun for months. I didn't do anything special to boost her up. She just improved on her own once she stopped being broody and half starving herself.

Good luck with Jenna.

 

[fiberart57]

I had to put my BO, Bunny, in a cage to break her of being broody for the same kind of things although she never got so run down. She would sit on the nest and when I took her off, she'd take a sip of water, one nugget of food and run right back to the nest. I finally put her in a suspended cage in the run with wet food and water. It took five whole days before she broke.

She did eat her wet food in the cage and drink more, but I noticed that she was a bit thinner when she finally got down.

If yours is sitting on eggs, shouldn't they be about to hatch given that she's been broody for three weeks? If you don't have eggs, you might need to get her caged. The air flow over the bottom of the cage cools her undersides. I put hardware clothe down in mine to give Bunny extra purchase.

Mary

 

[Christine S]

She doesn't have eggs to hatch...I remove them daily. I have a small flock of 6 (all we're allowed where I live) and no roo, so no point letting her sit on eggs.

How long will they keep sitting if there are no eggs?

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

With no fertile eggs to set on then you will have to break her of being broody. The easiest way is to put her in a wire cage that has a wire bottom in it. Keep it elevated for good air flow. Make sure she has plenty of food and clean water. Do not give her any bedding materials. Cool air across her belly will help break the broodiness as will the lack of bedding materials. Generally takes 3 to 4 days. After 3 days you can let her be back with the rest of the flock and see if she returns to her original nesting area. If she does then put her back in the cage for 2 more days and try her again.

 

[Christine S]

Im not sure it's the broodiness that is the problem. She is much worse today. Won't do anything...just seems to want to sleep. I gave her some fluids (she won't drink on her own.). I have her a crate by herself so the others won't pick on her, should they get the mind to.

I feel so helpless.

 

[JennaPonraj]

I'm so sorry!
I'm kinda new to chickens to.{ mine are 15 weeks } But I have had a lot of nice help with our Local Organic store. I live in Tacoma Wa, and I LOVE garden spere are local, don't know how to explain it store. They sale natural and organic products for lawns, and they sell animal feeds and they sell baby chicks. There very helpful, and if you need chicken or just garden or whatever advice they give it. Even if your chickens weren't bought from them. There phone number is:253-761-7936. Not sure what there hours are but there open today.
Just explain your problem to them. There REALLY friendly!!
Good Luck!

Tell us how it goes.