NEED HELP!!! My poor girl is broody and starving herself, lost a lot of weight, trying to stop her from being broody

[MegsEggsx]

Hi all!
I have a bantam hen that is broody, she has been broody for about 2 weeks. Her eggs are infertile because we have no rooster. I was planning on just letting her wait it out but after the first week I could see she was loosing weight fast so I decided to put her in the broody cage. She has been in the cage for 4 days now and she is still broody. I have let her out to free range right now with the flock because I am worried about her mental health and I am closely monitoring her so she doesn’t go back into the nesting box. She is normally a pretty stocky bird but right now she is so skinny. Does anyone know any healthy foods that will help her put on weight? And also how long in the broody cage is too long?

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Hi all!
I have a bantam hen that is broody, she has been broody for about 2 weeks. Her eggs are infertile because we have no rooster. I was planning on just letting her wait it out but after the first week I could see she was loosing weight fast so I decided to put her in the broody cage. She has been in the cage for 4 days now and she is still broody. I have let her out to free range right now with the flock because I am worried about her mental health and I am closely monitoring her so she doesn’t go back into the nesting box. She is normally a pretty stocky bird but right now she is so skinny. Does anyone know any healthy foods that will help her put on weight? And also how long in the broody cage is too long?

Scrambled eggs are a good 'weight gain' food. Lots of protein and will give her some energy. You can also add hydro hen/electrolytes to her water. Broody hens can go pretty overboard.

You can also give dried or live mealworms, most birds can't resist those. They're pretty fatty so don't feed /to/ many, but it can help her get started.

I'll tag some others who know more on the subject. @Eggcessive @azygous

 

[MegsEggsx]

Scrambled eggs are a good 'weight gain' food. Lots of protein and will give her some energy. You can also add hydro hen/electrolytes to her water. Broody hens can go pretty overboard.

You can also give dried or live mealworms, most birds can't resist those. They're pretty fatty so don't feed /to/ many, but it can help her get started.

I'll tag some others who know more on the subject. @Eggcessive @azygous

Thank you so much for your reply I will make some scrambled eggs right now for her. I will try to get some mealworms next time I go to the pet store. I don’t have any electrolytes, is there possibly a home made alternative for that?

 

[MegsEggsx]

I am just waiting for the scrambled eggs to cool down and then I’m going to go give it to her. I went to check on her a minute ago and she had not gone back to the nest yet, she was having a dustbath with her friends but it is raining so she might have been deterred from going back by the rain.

 

[MegsEggsx]

I have given her the scrambled eggs and have put her back in the cage. Does anyone know how long is too long to keep a broody in a broody cage?

 

[dawg53]

There's no time table on how long does it takes to break a broody. I've had broody hens stop broodiness in 2 or 3 days, the longest was almost 3 weeks, a stubborn Light Brahma.
It would be best to mix her regular feed in with the scrambled eggs you're giving her.

If your hen is dust bathing, it's possible she might be done being broody. Leave her out with the rest of the flock and simply observe her during the day as best as you can.
My broody's never dust bathed. They went straight to the nest box.

 

[MegsEggsx]

There's no time table on how long does it takes to break a broody. I've had broody hens stop broodiness in 2 or 3 days, the longest was almost 3 weeks, a stubborn Light Brahma.

That's good to know thanks, this is the second time she has been broody so I was expecting her to be more difficult than last time and she spent 3 days in the cage. If she is still broody in 3 more days though I am going to release her and try something else because I hate seeing her cooped up in there.

It would be best to mix her regular feed in with the scrambled eggs you're giving her.

That is a good idea I didn't think of that. I am going to try to get some new feed tomorrow that has more proteins and stuff to try to boost her weight back up.

If your hen is dust bathing, it's possible she might be done being broody. Leave her out with the rest of the flock and simply observe her during the day as best as you can.
My broody's never dust bathed. They went straight to the nest box.

Whenever I took Meg (my broody) out of the nesting box back before I put her in the cage, she would always have a small drink, a few pecks of food, squawk, run up to her bestie and have a short dust bath, then after about 10 minutes, she would go back to the nesting box. I thought it was pretty weird too, but I was glad she was eating and drinking at least something. I am going to test her tomorrow morning before I leave for school, and then decide whether to keep her in the cage for the day or not.