Will hen starve herself?

[Stella1964]

I've had a few posts about my Leghorn who is behaving quite unlike the others lately, won't venture out of the coop, hasn't laid eggs in weeks, her comb is floppy and pale, and she just sits in the nest box. We noticed her bottom feathers are gone (no mites) and she shivers when we lift her out of the coop and into the run, although she'll participate in a bit of pecking and some drinking if we put her beak into it.

The problem is that we are all away during the day, M-F, so we it's not possible to keep her moving.

Will she just sit in her box forever and starve/dehydrate herself? This is concerning us immensely.

Tx
Stella

 

[Mahonri]

We had a broody leghorn when I was a kid.

Or, perhaps the other chickens are beating up on her.

What you described is a broody leghorn.

How long has she been this way.

Put a couple of chicks under her (that's my standard answer, cuz I love baby chicks... especially if a hen is going to take care of them!)

Good luck.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I had a broody hen that would not leave the nest. I had to take her off to poo, even. I ended up putting a small dish of water and food right into the nest box with her.

She would spill some of the food and water, but the nest boxes I had were built in such a way that it fell through a crack by the edge.

Peace -
Meriah