My Plymouth rock hen I thought was broody I think is actually sick.

[Brungeman]

She spent quite a bit of time in the nesting box and would squak at me and kind of growl a bit. She seems to be a bit weaker after a few days of this behavior. The past week or 2 she had been letting out these squeeks periodically.

When I went to check her over this evening I picked her up and she was a bit thin (you can't tell they are thin with all of their fluffy feathering until you pick them up) and I could feel her breast bone really prominently. I was trying to check her crop but don't sense anything wrong buy just feeling around. I did notice a spot of missing feathers on her breast with what looked like a scratch on it. I put her back into the coop and as I turned to watch her for a bit, I think she passed the largest mount of poop I have seen (about the size of 2 eggs). It was right behind where she was standing... and if it was her, it was like she hadn't pooped in a couple of days. I am not sure what is going on with her. Since I am new to chicken keeping, I try to look up symptoms and next thing you know my chickens have every plague know to fowl.

thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Eggcessive]

It really sounds like she is broody. They sit there in the nest box, only coming out once or twice a day to eat, drink, and then their droppings at that time are just huge, stinky, and have some green in them. If you take them out of the nest and walk out into the yard, when you set them down they will usually just sit there. Then, they will either stop to eat, and will wave their wings and cluck, cluck, cluck if anyone comes near, or they will make a beeline right back to the nest. Put an egg near her, and she will cover it up. If I wereyou and you don't want her hatching this time of year, I would place her in a cage with food and water for 5 days and try to break her. A large enough cage with a roost and little bedding is best.

 

[Brungeman]

here is a video of the hen in the nesting box. Not sure how to embed photobucket videos to here...


http://vid45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/brungeman/20141230_085323_zpsumjbuy0w.mp4

and her clucking while eating some scrambled egg slurry.

http://vid45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/brungeman/20141230_085917_zpsljuelyd4.mp4

 

[Brungeman]

thanks for the response Eggcessive. I am trying to calm myself down... We have lost 2 birds this year and had to give away a roo last week so we don't want to lose another.