After losing a leghorn last week and noticing that there was evidence that somebody in the coop was having a problem with diarreha, we were advised to give the girls some antibiotics to be on the safe side. That seems to have taken care of the diarreha! At the same time the heat and humidity have dropped significantlyin the last week. Egg production has dropped dramatically(13 out of 14, now we have 4 or 5 out of 13), and yes we are disposing of the eggs for at least another week to make sure we have antibiotic free eggs. We have found two of our RSL's making themselves comfy on our deck underneath a counter that we use for grilling prepwork. Can hens go broody even though we do not have a rooster? Or is it the weather? Or is it a side affect of the antibiotics?
Hard to say.... ...was a bacterial infection confirmed before giving antibiotics? Could be they didn't have a bacterial infection and what ever they did have.... they may still have it. Or, watery feces can be caused by merely too much heat, they drink more water and have loose stool to shed heat..... it can also be caused by stress. Days are shortening, triggering molting and cessation of laying, molting can also stop laying. Supplemental lighting can keep them laying thru winter. Broodiness is indicated by a hen sitting on a nest day and night for 2-3 days in a row, they also will hiss, growl, puff up and flatten out when disturbed. Yes, a hen can go broody even if no rooster has fertilized her eggs, they also stop laying when broody.
I got a rir hen from a friend and all she does is sit in a corner beside the nest I got her up today put her on top of the little coop that's in the pen and gave her water she drank water and walked around up there for a while then went back to her spot not sure what's going on with her help!!!
