what the bock is wrong with my chicken

[mandyb123]

Hello fellow chicken lovers. This is our first year with chickens we got in April and all is or was well up until recently with one of our buff orpingtons. She is showing odd behavior lately. For about a week now she is wanting to stay in her nesting box nonstop. She does not have any eggs under her, and does appear to be laying any. I have been going to get her out against her will daily and she gets a quick bite to eat and drink goes back to her box. She squawks at me when I get her out and flares her feathers out like she has eggs but she doesn't. She is starting to worry me. She is losing weight and her comb and wattles are pale and dull. I was wondering if she is broody, but doesn't she need eggs for that and aren't they a little older when they do that? Do you think my chicken is ill? What could it be. She seems healthy as in skin, beak, eyes.....Should I be worried? All ears........

 

[ChickenAndMore]

She is probably Broody.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

She is probably Broody.

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[mandyb123]

good deal! That's what I hoped to hear! Thank you

 

[ChickenAndMore]

Your welcome

 

[chickgirl2013]

Hi Mandy,

I'm new so I hope I'm replying in the right forum. I signed up to BYC because our Buff Orpington is doing the EXACT same thing yours is.
We got her in the spring along with 7 other mixed breeds. She won't come out of her box unless one of us takes her out. Only then will she eat and drink water, but then goes back in her box. Not only are we worried about her health, but when we take her out of her box, the other chickens will peck at her.
I sure would appreciate it if you hear of a solution. Thank you! Debbie

 

[mandyb123]

will do. Ours doesn't get pecked at. We also have other breeds. We do have a dog that is out there with them running around, and she shows some angst towards the dog. She is noisy when we take her out and is noisy until she gets back in her box. Hopefully it's just broody. We have four other buffs, but they are all out and about. We'll see.....

 

[Araucana16]

If you guys want to break it, put her in a cage with wire flooring and no bedding with a DRAFT beneath her. In a few days - or less - she'll stop being broody.
If you don't (so you want her to hatch chicks) put her in her own cage. If you don't, she'll just sit there being picked on and sitting on nothing, and she'll take nonfertile eggs from the other hens. I would put her in your garage or an unfurnished basement in a dog crate. You can put small dishes of food and water there for her and she'll nibble. Every day, probably twice, you should take her off the nest and put her in your backyard and wait for her to poop and eat a little more than she usually does and strech her legs, and then put her back.
You will need FERTILE eggs! If you don't have a rooster, grab some fertile eggs from around or order them online.
Good luck If you just put fertile eggs under mommy and feed/water/poop her, in 3 weeks she'll have some baby chickies to love <3

(Be sure to put mommy & babies back in with the flock around the time they are a week old. If you do that, mommy and the chicks won't have any troubles not getting messed with.)

 

[mandyb123]

thanks for the advice. Have a wire rabbit hutch that would work

 

[roostersandhens]

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