Sick or broody? How to tell the difference

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Sometimes it can be difficult to tell...but that egg nudging thing....that tells it all!! Also the pale comb. I'm so sorry about your first hen. It is so hard to lose them.

 

[galaxy]

I too love this forum...even though this thread is several years old it has help tremendously. We have our first broody hen...I suspected it, but now reading this thread I can confirm it. We don't have any fertile eggs, just two hens so I will look into our next steps. Thanks everyone!

 

[Chickens R Us]

I have a Tetra Tint that I thought might be egg bound because she wouldn't leave the nest box and wasn't laying eggs, turns out she's just broody. I didn't think they were the broody type so I was surprised. I have her in a wire bottom pen right now hoping to break her.

 

[ZombieMadHatter]

I had one hen just do the sitting and not really doing much of anything. She wasn't herself and had some liquidy stool and someone or someones have been having German Shepherd sized poops lol but after a few days of her odd behavior she is now normal again and now I have another hen doing the same thing and not sure if sick or broody. They are a year old and they were all fine this morning. (Like the other hen she was fine and then she got weird) sooo not knowing what is going on is she broody? Seriously I haven't had this happen before

 

[aart]

been having German Shepherd sized poops

Sign of a broody... sitting for days in her eggs until she can't hold it anymore so gets out of nest and drops the infamous huge and smelly Broody Poop!

If they sit on a nest for most the day and all night for 3 days running,
then I call broody and decide to either break her or set her up with some eggs in the brooder area.

 

[ZombieMadHatter]

Turns out that my two hens were neither sick nor broody, they both tried to lay two eggs in one day. It apparently was a bit stressful for them which is understandable. Both are back to normal now.

 

[TheNeverEndingFlowerPot]

I like reading the real world stuff... then bounce Land Grant info. My silky went broody this spring when she had laid a series of eggs that I kept taking. One day she showed me who the boss of her eggs were & now I have my first little fuzzie! BUT last evening she's acting sick... I put her in a separate cage so I can see POO - make sure no blood. She was seriously mad, so my money is on broody because she tolerates me gently petting her head. She lifts her tush because she knows I am the one cleaning up those MOUNDS - that amazed me!