[1st time veg grower]

My hybrid hen is being annoying. Earlier this week she was taking ages in the nestbox (so I thought) for some bizarre reason all three hens lay in the same part of the nestbox and so as I was going out that day I left her to it and collected the eggs about half three in the afternoon. By this time she was out and about with the others and acting normally.

The next day it happened again, only this time I wasn't going out so I kept going out and checking on her - she did have a softie problem once before so wondered if she was having some sort of problem. Anyway, again just after lunch she came out of the house, I collected the eggs and there were three normal but very warm eggs in the nest box.

Yesterday - same thing happened. Only this time I had someone coming for lunch and had promised fresh eggs so I needed the eggs before lunch. So I thought I would just gently move her out of the way to get the eggs from the other two hens so I went to pick her up and she fluffed all her feathers up, made the most bizarre noise and tried to peck me! I persisted and moved her and there underneath her were 3 eggs! So she wasn't laying at all - she was sitting! I thought once I'd removed the eggs she'd get over it and go outside but she sulked in the house until about half two and then went outside and was acting normally again.

Just went out to collect the eggs this morning...same thing!!! She is again currently sulking in the house.

Will she get over this? Because I don't like having to deal with a grumpy sulky hen every morning! Nor do I want to wait until the afternoon to collect the eggs!

[Jeanette]

Collect the eggs as soon as possible and she will soon get the idea when the eggs are not there for her to sit on.

[Maccbean]

I've just realised that my lady with the prolapse is broody too.  I'm thinking the rest might do her good, so I've popped a pot egg underneath her. 

[1st time veg grower]

Ok so she has still not 'got over it' as I hoped she would. I have, everyday, been dutifully picking her up removing the eggs as soon as possible and then putting her in the run where she usually has something to eat. Then she goes back into the house and nest box and pretends the eggs are still there until about 3pmish - it doesn't matter how many times I turf her out! But eventually, of her own accord, she starts acting like a normal chicken again - until the following morning. She has still been laying and hasn't pulled any feathers out or anything, and like I say, usually gives up towards the end of the day!

That was until yesterday when I inadvertantly seem to have made things worse by cleaning them out!! I plonked her in the run after much squarking and grumbling as per usual. I then cleaned their house out - pop hole blocked off so they couldn't get in. I thought it might help if she couldn't get back into the house for a bit - stretch her legs etc. By the time I'd finished she was under the house and had made herself a little nest under there. No worries I thought, by about 3pm she'll be back to normal...wrong!! She sat under there all afternoon and what I didn't realise until this morning was she'd been out there all night too! Being black I didn't see her and just presumed she'd gone to bed with the others. 

So my plan of attack today is that I will let the 'good' girls into the extension run and then block that off, get her out from under the house and shove her in there with them for a good while - with no-where to hide may be she'll forget about sitting?

I'm off to stay with a friend for a few days tomorrow eve and have a neighbour coming to look after them - I didn't want him to have to fight her for the eggs everyday but it looks like he's going to have to.

So how long will it take her to get the idea that eggs are not for sitting on? Anything else I can do? She's been like this for just over a week now.

[carolbriar]

My hen started staying in the house for hours and I wondered what was going on.  I just thought she was taking a long time to lay.  Eventually I thought she was ill.  It turned out she was broody.  She stopped laying and just sat in the house in the nest box - no eggs underneath her at all.  I kept turfing her out and eventually when all the hens had laid I shut the house so she couldn't get back in.  It took a while but eventually she came out of it and a while later started laying again.  Some people put them in a dog crate so they get cool which apparently helps them get over it.  I wish you well - it is very frustrating!

[1st time veg grower]

Such relief! My stupid hen has, as of yesterday, but I didn't want to speak too soon, stopped acting as broody.

On Thursday night I had temporary loss of memory and when I went to shut the pop hole after the chooks had gone to bed realised I hadn't actually opened it for the poor things (I haven't been letting them in the house in an effort to stop Gladys 'sitting' which she would do inside the house if the nest boxes were shut off) and they were huddled on the ramp. Next morning Gladys was a different hen - ready to come out and have some food - I didn't have to force her! Later when I went to collect the eggs (which I had to do a while after they were laid as I had a meeting), Gladys again was out in the run - the eggs were warm so I do think she had still tried to sit on them for a while. She didn't spend any time in the house that I witnessed after that and the door was open all day. I did have to get her out of the nest box at bed time to put her on her perch though.

Today is cleaning out day so they got let out a little later after I had cleaned the run. Again she was ready to come out by herself, even though the eggs were there to sit on by then. She has been attacking large pile of pea plants that I cut down this morning and put in their covered run as the uncovered extension is far too muddy for them to go out in.

So glad as she hadn't been eating properly and looks thin compared with the other girls. I wonder if its a drop in the temperature and the rain that has brought her out of it? Don't really care, just really relieved for her and for me!