[jony worrall]

hello all just a quick question,one off my girls wont move out off her nest box,i'm a bit worried about her have tried to hand feed her but she not want to no,i lifted her out earlier today and put her in the run with the other two but within minutes she returned back to the nest box,but there are no eggs in there as i had taken them out in the early hours,i hope someone can help me or point me in the right direction into getting her back to her old self.

[Lindeggs]

Hello jony, have you read any of the posts on here about broody hens?  It does sound like your hen is going broody, even though she has no eggs to sit on!  There is some excellent advice around, with suggestions oin what you should do if you don't want her to be broody.

(I can't advise as I have never had a broody hen)

[Oakdalebirds1]

Hi

I have had broodys before and although the temptation to hatch a few of your own chicks is around i wouldnt at this time of the year as the chicks need the warm months to put on weight and feather up (unless they are kept inside) so my advice would be to lift her off each day (two ,three maybe more ) she will get the idea.

good luck

[NormandyMary]

Does she make a funny growling noise as you go to move her? If so then she is deffinitely broody. As previously said, its not a good time to be broody, so there are loads of threads on how to break the habit so to speak.

Good Luck!

Mary.

[hillfooter]

Other signs of broodiness are that she will fluff up her feathers and attempt a feeble peck.  When you lift her off and set her down she will flop down and not move for a while.

What breed is she as pure breeds are far more likely to go broody, particularly Silkies, than hybrids which have had broodiness bred out of them.

To break a broody put her in wire cage such as a dog cage raised slightly off the ground to allow air to circulate.  Let her have food and water but no comfortable bedding so she can't sit.  This will cool her and a day or two at the most should break it.  Ensure she has shade and shelter from the weather.

Broodiness is perfectly natural and not an illness and will pass naturally if you aren't in a rush.  If you don't want to do the cage treatment just keep lifting her and ensure she gets to the food and water a couple of times a day.  Itt may take a few weeks to break her this way.

If she is a hybrid and/or you don't see the the broody signs mentioned in these posts she could be egg bound and you should seek out advice on this site and via google what to do but in this case act quickly as a vets visit maybe needed in a worse case scenario.
Best of luck
HF