My broody hen is struggling

[Tillicans]

I bought her 4fertilized eggs because she was not leaving her nesting area. I had a chat to our produce people and they thought it would help her, she has been off her food for the full three weeks, I have 3 eggs now under her one was a dud. I gave her some mince some vitamins as well today she has actually picked up since she has been inside. I think where I have her coop some bush rats live nearby, I'll move it in the next few weeks, she can stay inside until the chicks are hatched and I'll move her when she's got stronger.
Thanks for your help. I'll get some Nutri-drench sounds good.

 

[Tillicans]

just wondering if I should discard the eggs, I feel the eggs have not formed. No pipping and when I shake them gently there is a squishy sound. I may be wrong but don't want Evan explosion of a rotten egg.
Poor mamma hen, she's not coping.
Looked like she was eating but all is in vain. I'm lost no idea what to do. She is just a skeleton.

 

[SIMZ]

It's kind of hard to say just going off this. Can you candle them and see if you see anything? Are you hearing any peeping? If you've had the hen off the eggs then they could be delayed a little bit.

 

[Isaac 0]

Im sorry to say this but your Broody hen is starving herself to death.You need to break her broodiness.

 

[AmericanMom]

Shaking the eggs is never a good idea, candling in a dark room would give you a better idea. I have had many broodys over the years and not once, ever has one starved herself to death or even come close. they generally will not leave the nest when anyone is present so determining if they are eating and drinking is often misinterpreted as not eating at all and starving herself. That said, if what you are describing is in fact what is actually happening I tend to believe there is something more wrong with your hen. Candle the eggs, if they are in fact not viable (which I suspect) I would of course remove them, then I would break the hen of being broody. A wire cage suspended off the ground with no nesting material but access to food and water .

 

[SIMZ]

From what you're describing, I'm also wondering if she was actually broody or sick when this started? I noticed that you said you thought the eggs would help?

Mine will sometimes just plop down when I take them off the nest. Is she doing that or actually falling over? What type of set-up was she in before you moved her? I usually keep mine in small hutch type things and they'll only get off once a day when I first open the door in the morning. If I didn't see that I might also think they never got off. Right before the chicks hatch they usually won't leave until they've hatched, so that also isn't that unusual. They also wouldn't eat during that time, either.

The biggest concern to me is the mites. Once you've dusted her if you've used a good dust that should be good. I wouldn't want those chicks wallowing around in a bunch of dust and certainly not DE.

Again, it's kind of hard to tell from not actually seeing how she's acting. I do hope the hen pulls through for you - chicks or no chicks.

 

[Isaac 0]

She is past the 21 day mark determined broody's will starve to death.

 

[Tillicans]

Thank you all for your comments. This is my first experience with anything like this. Must be her breed going all broody, my other two I've had for two years are healthy as, possibly why she ended up in my yard, no idea where she came from.
Having said all the above and trying to digest the possibility she has something more serious I'm going to take her to the vet today and be rid of the eggs. About a week or so ago she was stumbling whenever I took her off her eggs to eat or drink she would get all confused and walk backwards falling down. I stopped taking her out and placed the food nearer for her but nothing gets touched. You would expect her food to go down an inch. I believe she is slowly wasting away that's why I brought her inside.
I'm wondering if she has Mareks I've read up on the symptoms. My other coop is 50yds away from this one and hopefully it's not transmitted to them. I'm just trying to piece situations together, maybe I'm over reacting but the better part of me says check it out. Should have done that first. I've learnt heaps about chickens, seems some breeds are more resilient than others.
Just another thought has occurred to me is each morning when I used to check in on her prior to her going broody was slugs had been in her feed, I ended up removing her feed and put DE around the perimeter of the coop along with salt to keep them out. Yes, I thought dusting with pestene would be enough to rid if the mites, the neck is very badly infested, has no feathers and look very red, better now but no new growth. Sorry to the long dialogue, no one else to ask.

 

[SIMZ]

If she was stumbling, walking backwards, and falling down there is definitely something more going on with her. I hope the vet can help!

 

[AmericanMom]

Thank you all for your comments. This is my first experience with anything like this. Must be her breed going all broody, my other two I've had for two years are healthy as, possibly why she ended up in my yard, no idea where she came from.
Having said all the above and trying to digest the possibility she has something more serious I'm going to take her to the vet today and be rid of the eggs. About a week or so ago she was stumbling whenever I took her off her eggs to eat or drink she would get all confused and walk backwards falling down. I stopped taking her out and placed the food nearer for her but nothing gets touched. You would expect her food to go down an inch. I believe she is slowly wasting away that's why I brought her inside.
I'm wondering if she has Mareks I've read up on the symptoms. My other coop is 50yds away from this one and hopefully it's not transmitted to them. I'm just trying to piece situations together, maybe I'm over reacting but the better part of me says check it out. Should have done that first. I've learnt heaps about chickens, seems some breeds are more resilient than others.
Just another thought has occurred to me is each morning when I used to check in on her prior to her going broody was slugs had been in her feed, I ended up removing her feed and put DE around the perimeter of the coop along with salt to keep them out. Yes, I thought dusting with pestene would be enough to rid if the mites, the neck is very badly infested, has no feathers and look very red, better now but no new growth. Sorry to the long dialogue, no one else to ask.

How long was it before she went "broody" after showing up in your yard? It is normal for a dedicated broody to take a bit to snap out of the broody trance, to even fall forward if you take them off the nest suddenly and try to stand them up, but what you describe doesn't sound like normal broody behavior.