Softie ... then nothing

GregM

In the Brooder
10 Years
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I have a three-year old girl that has been a good producer for me for the past two seasons, but she recently has stopped laying entirely. About three weeks ago, she layed a soft-shelled egg, followed that up with a perfectly normal egg the next day (though there were some rough spots on the shell), and then just shut down completely. She sits on the nest almost every day, but to no end. Her other three coop mates continue to lay fairly regularly, if not at quite the rate they all did earlier in the spring. Their food, environment, and all other potential stressors I can think of are all unchanged in the past two years. Anyone have any ideas as to what is going on here? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
Well, I guess most anything is possible, but the fact that she hasn't produced a single egg in three weeks (and I leave no eggs in the nesting boxes more than a few hours) makes me think that broodiness is unlikely. Let's assume she is broody, though. If that's the case, what can I do to turn the tide? I'm telling ya - this one has me stumped.
 
If she stays in the nest box overnight she is broody. Other signs are a "growling-screeching noise" and fluffed feathers, clucking. If she is broody and you want to break her try caging her in a suspended wire cage. The idea is to cool off her breast area- some use ice cubes?
 

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