Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[Gelbel]

For several weeks Ada has been taking hours to lay and will quite happily sit on the eggs for ages after (or rathre, she lays and will sit and doze in the nest for hours after) - but she does eventually shift and forgets all about it until the next day. She's never puffed herself up etc so I've let her got on with it.

 

Now today she has gone all puffy upped, is sitting in the nest box and has not laid - I've had to retrieve Cissie's and Madge's eggs when they have come out the nest box back to FRing. Ada has been making a funny squeaking noise when I've shifted her today.

 

So - Q1 is, is she broody, Q2 will she lay if she is and Q3 rather than confine her to a broody box - can I just lift and shift her to FR with the others and hope she snaps out of it?

 

Thank you!

[figarogir1]

I am not an expert but I have a broody chook right now and Ada sounds the same. I tried lifting her off the nest to fr but she just got worse and was going straight back to the nest unless I shut all the girls out- then she would go and try to nest in the dust bath or somewhere she continued to lay at first too. She is now in a dog crate and I am feeling guilty as the others fr around her but it is for the best as she wasnt off the nest enough to eat or drink enough before. Good luck with whatever you decide to do - I think that the sooner you act the easier it is to get them out of it.

Clare

[coco]

One of my hens Coco has just stopped being broody after three months, broody cage didn't work so I left her to get on with it. I did make sure she was eating and drinking though, she hasn't lost much condition apart from a bald chest. Pipa's showing signs off going broody now, if its not one its another.

[dannablue]

My Speckled Sussex is doing similar things. The last 2 days she has been normal coming out in the morning but when she goes into the coop to lay we dont see her for hours. I found her sitting on hers and 2 other eggs yesterday so turfed her out and removed the eggs. She seemed to forget about it until today. She was sat on hers and Maude's egg today. I removed the eggs and put her into the run. She was out about 20 mins and returned into the coop. She is no longer on eggs as there are none others laid as yet so she cannot "borrow" one but she is just sat there. It is raining heavily so she may well just be sheltering in the warm but I am not convinced. I have turfed her out into the covered part of the run just to break up the cycle and will keep my eye on her. Maude went broody recently and I found that disturbing her and getting her out and her mind on other things seemed to work for me so fingers crossed it will work out this time.

 

Keep me posted on how you get on.

[chickyhazel]

Try dunking their bottoms in cold water - when they are broody they get very hot and if you can cool them down enough they stop being broody.

[dannablue]

Try dunking their bottoms in cold water - when they are broody they get very hot and if you can cool them down enough they stop being broody.

 

How deep should the water be?? Just to cover the bottom area? And how long do I dunk her for?

[Gelbel]

Again today I turfed her out the nest and she forgets about being broody - but it was very difficult as she HATES being picked up or touched. She will literally scream (a really horrible noise) and struggle to be put down if I do manage to get hold of her. Even at at snoozey bed times she hates me touching her and shouts - more like a squeal. So goodness knows how I can get hold of her to soak her bum. But I think I can replace the bottom of the coop and nest box with some type of metal grill.

[dixie chick]

How about popping one of those frozen cool packs underneath her - wrapped in a cloth? That should cool down her underside...

[cooker]

Our speckly, soup, has gone broody too, she was just going into it as we went off on hols, we're back a week on and shes got it bad! Our lodger took her off as much as he could, but she has been just sitting pretty much all day. She doesn't come out in the morning, and when you do lift her out she still tries to sit on the floor/on your leg, anywhere, its like shes in a trance, if you keep prodding her she does seem to 'snap out of it' for a few mins, but then we are back in the nest box. I have tried putting a bag of ice cubes under her this morning, which she is quite happily sitting on !?!

She has been eating/drinking a bit and not obv lost weight, but I wouldn't mind some eggs back again so want her snaped out of it!

I had read about dipping their bottoms in water, not quite sure she'd be too keen, but might give it a go!

 

any other tips greatly recieved!

Rachel

[Gelbel]

How about popping one of those frozen cool packs underneath her - wrapped in a cloth? That should cool down her underside...

And guess who started defrosting the freezer at 7am today?

[C&T]

I use the dunking method - think from what others have said it works fine as long as you catch them before they get too bad, and you can dunk them every couple of hours or so. Normally only takes 3 or four dunks I for ours.

 

I fill a large plastic trug bucket thing, which is about as deep as a chicken, and stand the chicken in the bucket, so water is 1/3rd up her body - i.e. high enough to soak her undercarriage through any feathers that are still there! It's worth (if possible) trying to move the feathers about, to ensure the water gets through to the body. I try and keep her in there for 5 mins, and then let her run around the garden. And repeat! First few times she seems to not mind too much. After that, becomes more tricky - and by the time it becomes almost impossible I know she is probably OK again and can stop!

[squidsin]

I might try the dunking thing again then - I gave her a quick dunk in cold water earlier but it made no difference. One of other pekins, Popcorn, just sat on top of her to lay an egg in the nest box. They're all nuts!