Hi everyone, I'm just new to raising chickens. I got 2 for my birthday last April and all was going well until last week. We think someone got into the back yard (there were footprints in the dust on my car!) and a few hours later one of my babies was dead. Pet shop thought she may have been eggbound. My other baby laid one egg the next day and since then is acting like she's broody. she has no eggs and we have no rooster as we're on a suburban block. I've chased her off the next every morning for the past 5 morning and she comes out, eats, drinks and goes back in. Yesterday we bought 2 new chicks thinking this would help but she tried to attack them. They're fine, but now I don't know if I'm stressing her more. Also, she's always been very loving and would talk to me and follow me around, now she just seems scared. I'm at my wits end and don't want to lose her too. Can anyone help? Tks Wendy
broody hen with no eggs....HELP!
It's possible she's eggbound as well. I hope not. Is she all puffy? Does her vent look okay?
What are you feeding them? Could the 1 that died have gotten into anything? Is your hen walking funny or does she look normal? What color is her cone? Does she have good color in her cone and legs around her eyes? I'm sure she is upset she lost her friend. If she looks good and is eating and drinking, I would let her work through it, she will come around.
so far she looks OK, when she's out of the nest (I've chased her out) she looks normal. A bit schizty but normal. She's not as red around her cone and eyes as she was when she was laying.
They're penned up and can't get at anything they shouldn't eat. They eat laying pellets, cracked corn and grit, along with lots of greens, apples and any vege peelings.
I'm thinking she's just upset too. When they were about 2 months old she got out when our other chicken Henny was in bed. We came home to find her on the back porch, soaking wet and calling, so I'm thinking she's fretting.
What's the vent? and how do I know if it looks OK...sorry for the ignorance, I'm still learning !
The vent is the egg/waste hole in the back of the chicken!
I think she is just broody from shock and broodiness. I just recently had a chicken go broody for about a month, and she was a total terror the whole time!! She would try to bite you if you got close and she acted like a maniac. Plus, she didn't even brood on an egg! SHe was brooding a small rock!
Sometimes chickens just do this. What kind of chicken is she ?
If you are worried, take her to the vet. Find a vet that does exotic birds near you and have them check her out. She just sounds broody to me!
Thanks for the info. I'm so not game enough to get close enough to check out her vent, but at least I know what it is now LOL!
We kept her out of the nest yesterday and she seemed fairly normal, just kept trying to get in. I'll just keep getting her out every morning and making sure she eats and drinks and just let her get over it. Thanks for the help. I'll let you all know what transpires. Wendy
I wouldn't worry too much. I have a very broody gal as well. Everyone insists on using the same nest box she is in, and so they lay eggs right on top of her! LOL! It'll be okay :)
ok....as I'm learning also....what is "eggbound"? Sounds like constipation only with an egg hahaha How do you know if one is getting that way and what can be done about it?
Eggbound is a potentially life threatening condition. It's a common cause of death for hens (other bird species as well).
Pick up the hen and feel her abdomen, and feel for any hard lumps. If you aren't sure, you can still go ahead and give the hen a warm bath. The warm water is often all they need to stimulate the blocked egg to come out.
I wasn't sure if my sick hen was eggbound or not, so I gave her a warm bath anyway, just to be safe. She wasn't eggbound after all, but really enjoyed the warm bath, LOL.
www.the-coop.org has good info on eggbound.
I had an eggbound hen and after a warm bath she had a LOT of droppings and a big, weirdly shaped egg. I'm glad yours is fine.
I think you should just let her "play house" it doesn't matter that the egg she is sitting on isn't fertile, she doesn't care. She will sit on the egg for a while and she will soon give up on it. Most birds of any kind to this. I have had ducks in the past that did this too. I also have a cockatiel that lays eggs once per year and she gets down right mean over her unfertile eggs. If you take them away from her, she will just continue to lay and that may lead to her being egg bound. After a couple of weeks, she just decides on her own that the eggs aren't going to hatch. I think that you should just let her keep her egg. She will be a lot less stressed.
Could you find some fertile eggs fom a farm nearby? Put them under her and let her hatch them.
Yes, chickens don't care whose eggs they sit on.
Hey everyone...well she came out of the brood eventually, we gave her 2 brand new chicks and eventually she adopted them. They're all quite grown up now but what an adventure......We now have another issue. She's stopped laying and started pulling out her feathers...literally they're everywhere. I thought she may be getting broody again? Does anyone have any ideas?
Tks
Wen
Sounds like she is molting, no more eggs for a while - sorry. Sounds like you are going an egg famine for a bit while she molts and the young ones grow up, then they will probably go into full production and you will have a feast.
Thanks that's a relief. I can live with buying free range eggs for a while. is this something she'll do regularly. She's not molted before and she's just over 12 months old.
Yup, either she is molting, or if she is ripping her feathers out on her chest, she's going broody again :)
You just never know when they will molt or go broody. I've only one molt so far, and she's two years old. a roo ripped some of her feathers out, and the poor dear was so shocked, she molted!
how to catch a hen?
update now she isn't doing as well she is walking almost bowlegged - no egg yesterday - she looks miserable. Please help
OK - found some good help here but my problem is a hen that just laid an egg this morning but walks around like she is wearing a (ahem!) full dirty diaper. She is eating fine. She and my other hen are free ranging (they have the run of about an acre), not well socialized and I've never tried to pick them up. If I have to nab her how is the best way to round her up? I don't want to hurt her. If I grab her would the egg(s) inside break? I know that sounds silly but I want her to be ok - I know nothing about chickens.
I fed hen scratch until they started laying and eggs were very brittle so I have added poultry laying feed and ostyer shell to the scratch. The eggs are stronger now but the hens look like they have the runs. Will chickens get runs from eating to much greens?
Thank you in advance
This message was edited Apr 24, 2007 2:57 PM
This message was edited Apr 25, 2007 11:20 AM