hen wont get out the nest box

jackie · « **on:** March 30, 2010, 16:41 »

when i went to collect our eggs today one of our hens was in the nest box so i left them. this was about half twelve. on my return from going out about four, she is still in the nest box. is she ill, egg bound or just being lazy! should i move her to get the eggs. given all the other hens corn and she usually comes for this but didnt come today. any advice would be appreciated

poppies · « **Reply #1 on:** March 30, 2010, 16:42 »

Sounds like she's broody - have nine at the moment little madams

jackie · « **Reply #2 on:** March 30, 2010, 16:49 »

really. what should i do, remove the eggs? i want to eat them tonight!

joyfull · « **Reply #3 on:** March 30, 2010, 16:58 »

Keep removing the eggs and keep turfing her out of the nest box, I have two being broody at the moment (but hopefully they are sat on fertile eggs

).

antwilk · « **Reply #4 on:** March 30, 2010, 18:18 »

i read somewhere about putting the hens bum in cold water it is suppossed to stop them from being broody i've not tried it myself though. I usually just put some eggs under them in a quiet place and let nature take its course.

dizzylizzie · « **Reply #5 on:** March 30, 2010, 18:44 »

putting their bottoms in cold water would probably work,

not sure if its humane though, poor thing ! If you dont have/want fertile eggs, then dont let the eggs build up, collect them as soon as you can, then keep turfing her out the nest box. She wont like it, she may evegrowl and hiss, and it may take a few weeks to break it. I gave up with mine and gave her eggs. If you do decide to hatch you have to think about what you would want to do with the cockerels

animal mad · « **Reply #6 on:** March 30, 2010, 20:09 »

my silkie went broody this week , i tried everything to change her mind but now i have given in and given her some eggs, so hopefully some chicks soon.

bee · « **Reply #7 on:** March 30, 2010, 20:10 »

Sorry to piggyback on this post but I'm also wondering about broodiness.

I thought I had a broody hen but now I'm not sure. I turfed her out the nest box for a couple of days and she gave up. However, she's not laying again yet. Could there be something else wrong? Do they stop laying when they're broody. I'm beginning to think that doesn't make sense.

jackie · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2010, 20:16 »

i havnt got a cockerel. dont really want her to get broody. turfed her out and she was ok for a while but went back in again. i'll just have to watch her to make sure the others can go in and lay their eggs.

joyfull · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2010, 21:23 »

Quote from: bee on March 30, 2010, 20:10

Sorry to piggyback on this post but I'm also wondering about broodiness.

I thought I had a broody hen but now I'm not sure. I turfed her out the nest box for a couple of days and she gave up. However, she's not laying again yet. Could there be something else wrong? Do they stop laying when they're broody. I'm beginning to think that doesn't make sense.

Yes they do stop laying when they get broody and it can be weeks before they get back into lay

ehs284 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 31, 2010, 08:34 »

Last year we had a few broodys.We read about the water treatment but thought that it sounded cruel. After trying the 'move them' strategy for a few days on the first ones, it obviously wasn't working and was causing the others problems so we resorted to the cold (well tepid) water treatment. They didn't object, in fact they seemed to find some relief, and it did work. The water was tap water with a little hot so it was colder than blood but not icy. Later broodys got the water treatment straight away. They did seem happier once the broodiness went away, which it did immediately.
However, this was summer and avoiding cold injuries at this time of year (it's snowing heavily now) may be a problem. When I've given any a bath to clean them recently, then they've had the hair-dryer treatment so they're dry when they go out.
Not sure if this helps - maybe the water treatment followed by the blow dry might work?

jackie · « **Reply #11 on:** March 31, 2010, 16:50 »

thought i'd let you know she's back to normal today. got an egg out of her as well. maybe she was just having an off day yesterday! thanks for all your advice anyway and i'll keep an eye on her

themagicaltoad1 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 31, 2010, 18:07 »

Some breeds are more prone to going broody than others, silkies for instance. Great if you're looking for a broody to hatch some eggs, pain in the a*** if your not! I've noticed a pattern with mine they lay for 3 weeks then go broody, and they enjoy having their bottoms dunked in cold water :blink:

Wont get off nest Started by ganner on The Hen House	13 Replies 3942 Views	March 07, 2012, 13:54 by bantambonkers93
2 of my 10 chickens wont lay in nest boxes Started by shez on The Hen House	8 Replies 2811 Views	October 23, 2009, 19:02 by karlooben
New hen wont lay in nest box as gets attacked will she cope? Started by SamT on The Hen House	7 Replies 3022 Views	April 17, 2014, 06:26 by joyfull
old hen wont let new ones in!! Started by sneezer on The Hen House	5 Replies 2181 Views	September 03, 2011, 12:43 by Jones the Search

hen wont get out the nest box

jackie

hen wont get out the nest box

poppies

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

jackie

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

joyfull

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

antwilk

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

dizzylizzie

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

animal mad

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

bee

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

jackie

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

joyfull

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

ehs284

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

jackie

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

themagicaltoad1

Re: hen wont get out the nest box

Similar Topics

Wont get off nest

2 of my 10 chickens wont lay in nest boxes

New hen wont lay in nest box as gets attacked will she cope?

old hen wont let new ones in!!