Mystery! 2 year old stopped laying!

[memapete]

Hi All,

I'm new the the forum, and I need help solving a mystery...

My 2 year old Buff Orpington has recently stopped laying (it's been about 5 days, we think). She's hanging out in the nest box almost full time and will immediately return there if we move her (and acts pretty annoyed if we move or handle her). My friend, who was really involved in Chicken 4H and all, checked her out and says she looks healthy. No sign of blockage, no mites, good comb color, but that her vent is dry and her pubic bones are really close together. She can't think of why, because my hen is so young. Our other Buff Orpington (yes, we only have two) looks totally fine and is laying normally.

I've recently read about broodiness. Can a hen turn broody like this? Would it cause her vent/pubic bone to do this?

Thanks for your advice!

 

[kidsbme3]

She is definitely broody! We have fluffy Buffs as well. There is always 1 of them that will sit on air for ever if we let her. We take her out into the nursery coop until she starts laying again. No box to brood in there. Good luck!

 

[BeanHen]

She is definitely broody!

X2
What you explained sounds exactly like what my Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, Pickle, did a week ago. And at 2 years old, she's definitely old enough to be broody -mine's only 1 year old.
Good luck!

 

[memapete]

Thanks so much!

What do you do to "break" a brooder? We only have 2 hens, so we really need her to lay Is it time to get an egg for her to lay on? A new chick?

 

[BeanHen]

Yep! No problem!

Hens don't necessarily need a chick or an egg to stop being broody --that would really only prolong her stay in the nest box because then she'd want to care for and raise the chicks.

There are a few different methods of 'breaking' a broody (ice bath or wire-bottomed cage), though the wire-bottomed cage --I've heard-- works best, and it's not necessarily cruel to the hen (unlike plunging her into a basin of ice water

)

Here're a few different links for 'Breaking' a Broody:

The Chicken Chick's Explanation of Broodiness (and how to 'break' a hen out of it) - http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/05/broody-breaker-when-hens-mood-to-hatch.html

Backyard Chickens Thread for 'Breaking' Broodies - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/181289/how-to-break-a-broody-hen

Contains a great pic of the wire-bottomed cage - http://readmychickenscratch.com/how-to-break-a-broody-chicken/

 

[memapete]

Hi All,

Thanks for your previous help... we think she's "broken" since she's not laying in the nesting box all day and not aggressive towards us anymore. BUT! No eggs yet! What do you think? How long should it take? It's been almost a week since she started acting like her old self again.

Thanks!