Broody or ill :-( ? Please help

[saltyseadog]

My favourite girl is behaving oddly at the moment. For the past three days I have had to turf her off the nest repeatedly - she is now sitting in the cube on the roost bars looking rather sullen. She is eating and drinking, but spends most of the time in the house, and showed no interest in free ranging last night (v.odd as she is my boldest girl).

She was wormed with Flubenvet last week, and was also dusted with mite powder (haven't seen any mites), so I don't think parasites are the cause. Her comb still seems pinky, and her eyes look bright.

I'm hoping that it's the warm weather that has sent her broody. She did lay yesterday.

Any ideas? I want to take her to the vets if she's ill.

Hi salty,

I'm fairly new to this chicken game, but from what I've read/experienced myself it sounds like she's a broody hen!

FYI, I find you get more responses and better information from the Omlet Forums (google and you'll find it). But be warned, they're just as addictive as MN

Does she get cross when you take her off the nest and fluff her feathers up? Is she laying? Is her comb red? Eyes bright?

She's very reluctant to get off the nest porridge - but she doesn't get cross. She is laying AFAIK. Comb is red and her eyes are bright. She just seems desperate to be in the house most of the time.

She free ranged for a wee while tonight, and showed some interest in running after some grapes, but was then back in the flipping house before I could say 'do you want another grape Doris?' .

My instinct says broody, but as I am so new to chicken keeping I worry a lot about whether I'm missing something.

positivepolly thanks for the advice r.e the Omlet forum - I'll go and post there too. Please let it not be addictive!

Sounds broody to me. Don't think you have a lot to worry about.

I'm dreading my first broody Salty ... and yes, Omlet is addictive!!

broody! I've got one too - it's the heat. I also dreaded it, but honest, it's not too big a deal to handle (although having said that, I bet the lot of them go hormonal now!)

See Omlet - broody cage is the only thing that works for me. My girl was laying until 2 days ago, although she's been showing broody signs for a week. She's seriously hormal now.

Oh bugger - broody it is then!

Bramble - what do you use as your broody cage? Do you have a proper broody house and run, or just a cage? I have a massive dog crate - if I put her inside that with newspaper, food, water etc for a couple of days would that help? Sorry - I'm completely clueless as to how to deal with a broody.

Funnily enough I asked the breeder how to deal with a broody when I went to pick them up....she said that she just bought them into the house for a couple of days (she is vair eccentric). I can just imagine my dh loving that !

Is she grumbling? Broody hens always develop an anxious grumbling when away from the nest.

Not grumbling, but definitely very anxious to get back to the nest asap. She has been out and about today, but must have spent 80% of the day in the house (today I have been mostly conducting a chicken time and motion study ).

Wait for the grumbling A full on psychosis is on the cards Bet she is rooted to the nest tomorrow.

It's like demonic posession.

My girl is in a cat box with a wire lid - I've turned the box so the lid is downwards and placed it on bricks so cool air can circulate underneath. I've popped food and water in there for when she comes back to herself! It's all inside the secure run in case mr fox comes sniffing.

24 hours usually does it.

She is definitely broody - it appears she has plucked some of her feathers, presumably to get her skin closer to the imaginary eggs she is sitting on .

Demonically posessed sums her up very nicely at the moment. I want my old Doris back!

I think my dog crate upside down should do the trick. I found this article (lovely blog):

broody coops

great article, thanks! My girl is growling from her coop and setting the others off.

Just turfed the cochin out of the nest box too .... argh!

How are yours coming along Bramblebooks?

Doris is complaining bitterly from our summerhouse (put the broody coop up today), it does seem to be having the desired effect of stirring her from her broody stupor. I'd take her outrage over days and days of sitting in the nestbox any day .

Well I've become cruel tonight and she is actually overnighting in the broody coop safely esconsed in the run. She's been spending the days in the broody coop, then locked out of the nestbox so that she can furtle around for a bit with the others (growl at them more like), then I've been wedging a flowerpot in the entrance to the nest box so that they can all go up and roost.

Except in the morning she's pushed the flower pot free and is sat in the nest box with it, growling.

So it's the hard approach and she'll be locked in the slammer until she snaps out of it!

Broody poo has to be seen and smelt to be believed ...

See this thread here: club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=47384 for what happened last year!

That is superb (your Omlet thread, not the gigantic broody chicken poo)!

YEs - Doris is doing time tonight in the slammer too. I will go and take a look at her in a moment if I dare. She is NOT impressed.

tyvm! Come and join us!

I'm just going to check on blubby. Her evil cell mate wiggy (new boss chicken) is roosting in the run tonight on the new mezzanine level to keep her company. I am paranoid that foxes will come sniffing, so am taking extra care.

Fairy lights are on!

Ladies ... your poor chooks!!! I hope they sleep well [evil grin emotion]

Your girls have fairy lights? Shhhhhh....don't tell mine, they will be wanting some too.

I have just been out to visit Doris (DH opened up the summerhouse door much earlier), and she is most definitely NOT amused. I think I will keep her in for another night and then risk returning her to her home comforts tomorrow morning. That's if I can tough it out that long - I'm too soft for this broody coop business!

Blubby is now roaming the garden as she was let out by dh and hopped straight back into the nestbox. Another night in the cage for her too - it's a tough one this one!

Mine also have rambling roses trained over their run which they think are very tasty.

Right my resolve is sharpened. D is doing 2 nights in the slammer. She is currently looking like a burly security guard in the coop, pacing the edges.

Mine is currently in the 'spa' - dustbathing under the bushes with her friends. I'm keeping an eye on her to see if she does dash back to the nestbox.

I think one more night in the broody cage is in order, to ensure that it's really out of her system and she doesn't revert back to evil pancake status.

Guess who's back in the broody cage? ...

Definitely broody. Mine went broody this summer and I bought some hatching eggs off ebay and 28 days later we had 3 lovely chicks! They are getting quite big now and we are really enjoying their antics.

Honeywitch - that is very tempting. My only reluctance is what to do with the males? Whilst we live in a rural location I don't think my neighbours would be enchanted by cockerels joining my flock!

Bramble - Dore is still doing time too.....Did Blubby make a beeline for the nest box ?