What wrong with my chicken

[CheshireChick01]

One of my hens has been acting very strange the last week. She does not want to come out of her nest box in the day and spent all day in there yesterday, she will not come down for food or water and I noticed she is missing some feathers underneath. I am worried as all this has happened very quickly afew days ago she was fine. Help!!!

 

[CheshireChick01]

Ow and she hasn't payed any eggs in a week

 

[Den in Penn]

Sounds a like she is broody.

 

[Autumn D]

do you have a rooster?,if not it's okay to take the eggs from underneath her, if you have a rooster leave the eggs and the hen be, and you might get come chicks.

 

[CheshireChick01]

She is already laying I bought her at laying age, and no I have no rooster. Once again she didn't come out the nest box all day but no eggs

 

[Den in Penn]

If they have reached the point of sitting on the nest while broody, they usually stop laying. Does she stay on the nest at night? If she is staying on the nest she is full on broody.

 

[CheshireChick01]

Yea all day and night she only comes out if I force her too( usually have to pick her up) last few days none of my other hens have layer either :'( I think because she grows at them if they go near her in the nest box. What should I do?

 

[Den in Penn]

Its a question of what you can and want to do. Do you have the space and want more chicks?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

She is broody. This is a normal mothering instinct and a natural behavior.

You basically have three options: 1. Give her a fake egg/golf ball and just wait it out. 2. buy some fertilized eggs and let her hatch them. 3. try to "break" her of this behavior

I have a cochin who is broody frequently. I also have no rooster. I just give her a fake stone egg that I have and let her be broody. She will come down when she needs to eat, drink and poop (which is not often.) Your hen will lose some weight and might pull out the feathers on her belly - this is all normal and nothing to be worried about. She will not lay eggs while she is broody. Mine is usually broody for about three weeks and then it takes her another week to start laying eggs again.

You can break her by keeping her in a wire bottom cage so that she can not nest and will give up. There are a number of threads about it on here, just do a search. I tried it once and felt bad so I gave up before it worked but if you need eggs it is worth a try.