Stress bloodiness?

[Just2chickens]

Hi, just a question, is she really broody? And is she laying, because why would you put her down if she's a healthy laying hen? Leghorns tent to take their time in the nestbox before and after laying.. I had one that sometimes sat a couple hours in it, first she checked if everything was safe and she made a nest, she put straw on her back, realy making a thing of it, and after laying she would sit on the egg for a couple of hours, sometimes getting up to eat or drink, if I took the egg before she was ready, she'd make a fuss, so I gave it back... but after she did her egg song she went back to doing normal chicken stuff...
Chickens also consider a space where there are eggs as safe, so she could just be making herself feel safe again ... maybe it's her way of coping with the tree hitting her house...
So maybe you don't have to break her, but just let her be ...

 

[joeanybody]

Hi, just a question, is she really broody? And is she laying, because why would you put her down if she's a healthy laying hen? Leghorns tent to take their time in the nestbox before and after laying.. I had one that sometimes sat a couple hours in it, first she checked if everything was safe and she made a nest, she put straw on her back, realy making a thing of it, and after laying she would sit on the egg for a couple of hours, sometimes getting up to eat or drink, if I took the egg before she was ready, she'd make a fuss, so I gave it back... but after she did her egg song she went back to doing normal chicken stuff...
Chickens also consider a space where there are eggs as safe, so she could just be making herself feel safe again ... maybe it's her way of coping with the tree hitting her house...
So maybe you don't have to break her, but just let her be ...

Thank you for your excellent question. It is something I had not considered however I don’t think that is the case. I’m no expert at chicken raising, by any stretch of the imagination. These chickens aren’t pets or anything like that so I don’t pay THAT close of attention to them. However, I do know what to generally expect out of them on a normal basis. As I mentioned in another reply, I own 0.4 acres abutting a national wildlife refuge. I got the lowdown from forestry services about what kind of predators to expect and designed and hand built a 25ft by 15ft enclosure to house 1 covered area for rest and 1 house which encompasses 4 nesting boxes. Before the branch fell on the enclosure (it didn’t hit the chicken house thank goodness, my design worked) I would receive 7-8 eggs every single day without fail. Now I receive 6-7 eggs everyday. So just by the numbers I say she is not laying. Or laying regularly. When she is sitting on the egg i leave her be. When she goes to get food and drink I grab it. Within 2 days she’s back to sitting on an egg. The tree fell on aug 28th. It is now oct 10 which is 42 days (I think) which is almost exactly 2 full broody cycles. I think she has Broodied, fell out of broodiness, and gone back again several times. This started exactly 1 day after the tree fell. Probably it a coincidence. Furthermore, before the branch fell all 4 nesting boxes were in full use. Now the other chickens won’t go near where this hen is. Plus she is losing weight. I think just by the evidence I have, she is definitely at least broody like. I won’t put her down because she isn’t laying. I will put her down because I can’t stand an animal of mine suffering, even mentally.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If she's laying, she's not brooding. Even when they stop brooding, it takes a good while to get everything back into gear.

 

[joeanybody]

I want to thank everyone for their responses. I think I have enough tips to either get her going again. I’ve learned a lot and will put it to use. Wish me luck.

 

[Just2chickens]

Good luck, I hope you get her well again ...

 

[joeanybody]

If she's laying, she's not brooding. Even when they stop brooding, it takes a good while to get everything back into gear.

I think the crash just set her into a broody like state. Cause she is mean as heck when disturbed while sitting on that egg and no other chicken is going near her side. Which screams broodiness. That with the number of eggs before and after says she is at least broody like. I’m going to treat it as such and try to treat her mental state as well. As well as can be done on a chicken. Not like I can take her to a psychiatrist or something. She’s losing weight so doing what some of these nice people suggest will at least allow me to control her diet and get her back to physically healthy too.