- Apr 20, 2014
- 13
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Hi there,
My mama hen has finally come out of the coop after 6 weeks with her new chicks. She spent over 21 days in the nesting box and then another 6 weeks laying down 99% of the time with the chicks under, beside, and on top of her. Now that she is outside with them (only a few hours a day) she seems to be walking a bit funny. I am guessing her muscles have atrophied a bit after so much laying around and mothering, but I just want to be sure. She has been coming outside for about a week here and there.
Is it normal for a mama to seem like she's literally walking on eggshells after being broody? If so, how long does that usually last? I haven't checked her for bumblefoot yet because I am trying to give her and her chicks some space and make her feel safe with them.
Hoping someone can ease my mind about her funny walking.
My mama hen has finally come out of the coop after 6 weeks with her new chicks. She spent over 21 days in the nesting box and then another 6 weeks laying down 99% of the time with the chicks under, beside, and on top of her. Now that she is outside with them (only a few hours a day) she seems to be walking a bit funny. I am guessing her muscles have atrophied a bit after so much laying around and mothering, but I just want to be sure. She has been coming outside for about a week here and there.
Is it normal for a mama to seem like she's literally walking on eggshells after being broody? If so, how long does that usually last? I haven't checked her for bumblefoot yet because I am trying to give her and her chicks some space and make her feel safe with them.
Hoping someone can ease my mind about her funny walking.
and Welcome To BYC! Congratulations on a successful hatch! You might want to check over your hen really closely, can you take her off the nest in the dark and block the chicks in while examining her? Broodies are usually fairly active running around and scratching things up for the chicks once they are a few days old, if she spent 99% of the time laying down the last six weeks since they hatched that is rather odd.
