VITAMIN B 12 DROPS FOR A BROODY HEN

[aart]

She doesn't have any eggs. I know Vit B 12 can help give them a little boost in times of stress, illness etc. Just thought it might help since she isn't eating and drinking and moving about like she normally would.

I agree that she should have been broken if you didn't want her to hatch a clutch for you...might take long time to break her now and who knows how long she will continue to sit there. She will continue to lose condition and become weaker as time goes on, and just some B12 isn't going to do that much. If anything a poultry multivitamin would be a better choice. What are you feeding her? Hopefully she hasn't become a lice or mite magnet, you should check for that. Best of cLuck to you.


Your avatar is gorgeous, did you draw that?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Broodiness is controlled by hormones. Those hormones can affect different hens differently. Some are a whole lot more prone to going broody than others.

Before a hen goes broody or even starts laying eggs she stores up a certain amount of excess fat. Again, different hens store up different amounts of fat. This stored fat is mostly what a hen lives on while she is on a nest. That's why she doesn't have to spend a lot of time off the nest eating or drinking. During the first several weeks of sitting on an egg the "condition" she loses is basically fat stored for that purpose. But after a certain point she has used up that excess fat and can start losing real "condition". A lot will break from being broody before they physically injure themselves through starvation, but some won't.

I'm with the group that if I'm not going to give her eggs to hatch or chicks to raise I'll break her from being broody. While she is broody she is not laying eggs, she's disrupting the flock, and is more susceptible to mites and lice. I just don't see any benefit to letting her run her course. I use the elevated cage with a wire bottom method.

Of course she is yours and you can do as you wish. However you decide I with you and especially the hen good luck!

 

[bobbi-j]

I know...that's why I am asking about the B 12. I prefer to let nature take its course and let her finish it out.

Letting "nature take its course" isn't always best for the hen. She may or may not "finish it out" before losing condition or ending up with lice or mites. She's probably not going out to dust bathe if she's not even going out to eat and drink on her own. As RR said, it's your hen and you can do what you want. But I agree with the others that the kindest thing in the long run would be to break her.

I agree that she should have been broken if you didn't want her to hatch a clutch for you...might take long time to break her now and who knows how long she will continue to sit there. She will continue to lose condition and become weaker as time goes on, and just some B12 isn't going to do that much. If anything a poultry multivitamin would be a better choice. What are you feeding her? Hopefully she hasn't become a lice or mite magnet, you should check for that. Best of cLuck to you.


Your avatar is gorgeous, did you draw that?

 

[Suzi18]

I thank all of you for your opinions .....I put her out every morning and she eats, drinks and poops.....my husband does the same at lunch.....and in the evening I put her out in the yard to free range with the other girls. She always stays out long enough to take care of her needs. I have even seen her take several dust baths. I check her regularly for lice and mites and change the nest box bedding every couple days....I even add dried lavender, roses and fresh mint. I should get such treatment. She is doing fine and if I feel she is broody beyond a reasonable amount of time then I will do what is necessary. I don't care about the egg production as I have other hens and she isn't causing any disruption to the flock.We all have our own ways of doing things and I respect that.