poisoned chickens?

[iron john]

Her name is flappy

 

[Outpost JWB]

A droopy comb usually indicates lack of water intake. I've seen it happen to some of my chickens when they have water 24/7. They just are not drinking. It could easily happen to a broody hen as well. I would get some electrolytes for her water.

Indications of a broody hen......
She will growl and screech like a pterodactyl.
She will ruffle up her feathers when you approach her.
She will stop laying.
She will only get down once a day to quickly eat, drink, poop.
When she poops, it's MASSIVE!

When I allow a hen to go broody, I keep a careful eye on her, give her plenty of water and feed. I usually isolate her to the broody cage we have so she has plenty of room, doesn't have to stress about the other chickens breaking her eggs, and she always has food and water to herself. I then have to physically remove her twice a day so she can poop & quickly dust bathe.

 

[iron john]

Yep. She does all of that.
is there a way of discouraging her from brooding?
Is it something she will always do from now on??

 

[iron john]

And what electrolyte would you suggest?

 

[shortgrass]

Yep, I would say she's broody. What breed(s) are your hens? Some breeds tend to 'go broody' more than others, for example, Cochins and silkies are very well known for broodiness, where red stars are not. Then there are the odd and end ones that just seem to have a need to try it but aren't very good at it.

If you want to discourage it, make sure to remove all eggs as soon as possible, and if possible, restrict her access to the nesting boxes for a few days to a week, and she should snap out of it. Some flock owners use a "broody cage" to keep them from being able to set. I have a second coop that I'll move them to for a week until they start acting "normal" again. The second coop has no layers in it, so there are no eggs for them to search out and sit on; it seems they just can't resist sitting on an egg, whether they have to move 20 times to do it or find another egg lol...

If she's gone broody once, she will most likely do it again, but she might not try again for a couple months. I have a few that will brood over and over if I let them, and I have a couple that will only try once or twice and then give up until next spring, depends on the hen

Oh, and I would recommend electrolytes too, just to help her out since she's probably not drinking enough; broody hens will only get up once or twice a day to grab a quick drink, so they can get dehydrated easily in hot weather. Our local feed store carries these,
https://www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-Life-Lytes-Mega-30-Tablets/dp/B00AQ4D5YI

and there are also other packets, one called "save-a-chick" that is a common one used. As you gleen more from members here, someone will most likely mention probiotics... Hey that might be me! Ha-ha prebiotics and probiotics are a huge part of a healthy flock, IMO. Keeping their little guts full of healthy microbes is a huge step in keeping immunity up and helping them recover better if they do get run down from being stressed, broody, etc.

Fun times, broody hens.

 

[iron john]

They are pekin bantams.
Thanks for all the info!
My daughters are just so in love with them, and play at being chickens, ALL THE TIME!