Thought she was broody then molt but now not sure?

[Alley]

Last week I posted I thought she was either broody or molting. Her symptoms: Sitting in the nesting box and not leaving, not laying and losing feathers.
This week she's out scratching in the yard, eating and drinking well but she won't lay or roost. She insists on sleeping in her nesting box. She's still eating and drinking but she doesn't have any feathers on her belly... so am I to assume this is a molt? I'm confused about all of this and I'm a little worried.

Thanks,
Alley

 

[Mourningdove]

sounds to me that she's broody....give her somme eggs to set and see.

 

[jessupfamily]

Quote:
I agree!

 

[Judy]

Sometimes they are "kinda halfway" broody. What to do depends whether you'd rather have a broody or egg layer. Or you can let her do her thing....

 

[Alley]

So picking feathers is a broody thing? I thought it was a molt? I have just the 2 girls and no roo. I have access to fertile eggs but I would rather not do that. Should I just let her do her thing or should I try to change her mind?

Thanks again!
Alley

 

[Portia]

Sounds to me like you've a broody there. They pick their 'belly' feathers so that they can put the eggs directly against their skin for maximum heat transmission. Its up to you what to do from here forward. I've never tried to break a broody mood, but I have enough hens to us in eggs if 1-2 go broody. Good luck

 

[CarolynF]

Hi,

I know this is a really old thread, but I have exactly the same situation. About 3 weeks ago my BC Maran decided to sit on the nest full time. We don't have a roo, so it wasn't going to do her any good. I have only 3 pullets and want the eggs, so I removed her from the nest and kept her out of the coop until evening. After 3 days of this routine she decided not to set there any longer. But she hasn't layed an egg since. She's very healthy and seems content to just hang out. Today I decided to give her a good looking at in case I missed something. The only thing I found was pin feathers growing in to replace feathers missing from her belly.

Is this a typical to stop laying even though she's no longer setting?

How do we get her to lay again? Is it strictly a waiting game? If so, how long will it take? She was my best layer until this happened. She's not quite a year old, and I'm a novice, so I'd be so happy to hear back from a few of the more experienced folks here.

Thanks!
Carolyn

 

[Den in Penn]

When hens go broody and set on eggs they stop laying. Yes its a waiting game to try your patience till they start to lay again. They all have their own schedule

 

[CarolynF]

Denn in Penn,
Thanks very much for replying. As it turns out she layed an egg today! I looked at the calendar and it's been 16 days, not as long as I'd thought, but still a long time for me. So one more lesson learned in keeping chickens.

Her egg today was smaller than usual, and its normally dark brown color was missing. Her ink jets put out just a smattering of the dark brown at the pointed end of the egg. I'm sure she'll be back to her normal chocolate brown, large eggs within a couple of days. I'm such a happy camper today, they all laid an egg. We even caught two of them sharing the nest box -- a pretty tight squeeze!

Thanks for sharing BYC members!