though my hen needed a prozak

[suzintx]

One of my girls has been acting very strange.
She is laying in the nesting box ALL of the time.
She won't come out. So I remove her every chance I get.
She runs right back in. She eats, drinks minimally.
I have tried isolating her in a mini coup, or a dog kennel, she just lays and waits for the door to open so she can run back into the nesting box.
Then after 2 weeks of this insanity, her flockmate started doing the same thing!
Now after a couple of days of that a 3rd is doing it!!

***When I remove them from the box, they lay very flat.***
They are very docile in this position. I sometimes will dropper feed them something to make sure she is getting some nutrition.

What the heck is going on?

Feedback please
Suzin

 

[azygous]

You've really described the condition when you jokingly say they need a Prozac. Your hens are broody. There's no personality change more drastic in a hen than when she goes broody.

This time of year, many young hens have a hormonal change that makes them begin to get more and more irritable until, about a week later, they lay a final egg and insist beyond all attempts to convince them otherwise, to sit on them (or even an empty nest if you've been removing the eggs each day) for the next 21 days to hatch a brood of chicks.

 

[LaceyMae]

Give them some fertile eggs and raise you some babies! Congrats!

 

[Angiebubs]

LOL Yes! You perfectly described a broody hen!! Pretty funny too, when you set them down and they flatten out like a pancake!!! They usually will only get off the nest once or twice a day and run around like they are on speed then right back onto the nest. They will also often be more aggresive and make a cute little chirpy cluck noise.

You have a couple choices:
A: GIve her some fertile eggs to hatch
B: Do nothing and let her sit till she breaks her broody streak-often 1-2 months
C: Try and break the broodiness by putting her in a wire bottom cage that has air flow under it. This can cool off their tummy and sometimes break their broody spell

 

[suzintx]

I went with Day Old chicks. So far so good. But concerned she won't take them to the food and water.

 

[Angiebubs]

Yeah new babies! And they instictively know when it is time to take them to food or water....usually about 3 days after hatch. Although if you purchased these from a store, they may have been that age by the time the store received them. You can try dippign their beaks into water to get them to drink a little twice a day if your concerned.