Yet another problem.....

[birdgirl408]

I seem to have had nothing but problems with the four chickens I originally bought. This time, Bea had been sitting in the nest box for 36 hrs or so and not laying. She wasn't coming out to eat either. I could feel an egg present, so I did what other chookie owners do and put her in some warm water for a while topping it up to keep it warm. Then wrapped her in a towel to dry off and keep warm (not too warm weather here at the moment!). No results. Eventually took her to the vet, chook had an injection and this induced the egg some 4-5 hours later (this was last night). Chook put in coop for the night. She came out this morning, had breakfast and went straight back in the nest box at 6.30 a.m. it's now 4.00 p.m. Still no egg. She has only been out once, briefly, to feed. I have vaselined her vent and inside.

She has been a good layer and no problems since nursing her back to good health and good weight. At the present tho she is losing weight albeit slowly but she isn't eating or scratching (she is free range). We have no cockerel.

Throughout the whole time she has been 'clucky' and all fluffed up and doesn't want to stand up properly and really objects to me if I move her at all (even to put her to bed). Is she just a broody hen? Is there anything else I can do or should I just leave her be. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[sourland]

It definitely sounds as if your hen is broody. She is showing all the signs of a broody hen.

 

[birdgirl408]

Thank you sourland. I would assume then that I would have to break her of this habit and keep her out of the nest box until that time that she really wants to lay?

 

[aart]

Thank you sourland. I would assume then that I would have to break her of this habit and keep her out of the nest box until that time that she really wants to lay?

Truly broody hens don't lay, if they occupy the nest for 3 days and nights, are growly, hissy, pecky, flattened out, and in a 'trance'... they just want to sit.
But if she was egg bound before that could be part of the problem and should probably be investigated.

If you want her to hatch out some chicks give her some fresh fertile eggs.

If you don't want her to hatch chicks, you can break her with a broody cage...wire bottom, no bedding.
My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a few bricks right in the coop and I would feed her some watered down crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two.

 

[birdgirl408]

Thanks for the info Aart. My question is now, do I leave her in the crate over night, cos she has gone in to roost this evening, as normal and is sitting down in the hay in the nest box? She has been shut out of the run/coop all day. As time is getting on now, I think I will have to put her in the crate tomorrow and depending on your answer leave her in/or out when the night time comes tomorrow. Thanks again for your advice.

 

[aart]

If she's spending most the day in a nest then spending the night in a nest, and you don't want her to hatch then leave her in broody breaker crate overnight.
Only when they go to roost on the roost with the other birds is she deemed broken.

Unless you allow your birds to roost in a nest, then that's just confusing the issue.......
.......I don't let my birds roost(sleep at night) in the nests, another habit that needs to be broken if it's happening.

 

[birdgirl408]

Thanks for the advice Aart. I put her in the crate and it seems to have worked. Fingers crossed. It worked very quickly too - she obviously didn't like the crate!!