What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Smudge]

Hi All

 

Our girl Onion is behaving a little strangely and I thought she was just getting broody but now I'm not so sure.

 

She's been laying for a couple of months, and a couple of weeks ago we found her still on the nesting box at lunchtime, and when we opened the run door for FR time she stayed put. So, after much pecking we managed to remove her and found she was sitting on her own and Sage's egg. So we shut the Eglu door to keep her out and there was much noisy protesting for about 10 minutes, but then she quietened down and went pottering off round the garden.

 

This happened the next day as well, which was fine at a weekend when we were around to eject her but when we're at work all day we couldn't do that, so we started putting some hefty flowerpots in the nesting box to stop her sitting in there all day (she can shift anything off that isn't quite heavy!). It was a bit harsh on them for laying, as they both seem to be laying after we'd left for work, but we didn't know what else to do to try and break her out of what we thought was broody.

 

After a couple of days, when they were let out for FR in the evening we started to remove the flower pots and Onion didn't seem at all bothered about diving into the nesting box, so we stopped putting the flower pots in, and all seemed fine. There was no cessation of laying from Onion during these few days, she carried on producing one a day.

 

Then last weekend she went into exactly the same 'broody' behaviour again, but this week my husband has been able to pop home at lunchtime and he says despite the flowerpots she's just sitting in the Eglu on the roosting bars, and yesterday she wasn't even bothering to try and sit on her own egg which was nearby.

 

And she's still laying! So is she really broody, or is there something else wrong that we're not seeing? She still looks really healthy, with bright eyes, firm and red comb and she's feeding (and pooing!) fine, and once you can shift her out of the Eglu she potters happily around the garden, and runs at top speed for her treats!

 

Any ideas/advice would be much appreciated. Is this a kind of half broody from a still young hen?

 

Apologies for the length of this!

[Tweety]

Hi Wendy, what type of hen is Onion, hybrid or pure breed? As long as you think she is healthy, and she is eating/drinking/pooing/laying normally, I wouldn't be too worried about her. It sounds as if she is a touch broody - especially if she is pecking you when you try to remove her from the nest. Is she fluffed up like a feathery pancake?

[Smudge]

She's a hybrid and yes she is all fluffed up like a feather pancake!

 

Got home a little earlier today & found her in the eglu again but no egg today. Although as soon as I opened the run door for FR time she shot out without having to be encouraged at all.

[Tweety]

Well as long as the broodiness doesn't get any worse eg sitting on the nest all day and not eating and drinking, I would leave her to get on with it. It sounds a very half-hearted effort at broodiness anyway, and hybrids should not be as affected as some of the pure breeds. There is a lot of information on the forum about dealing with broodiness, if she doesn't snap out if it.

[chicken bark]

I know I initially got hybrids as I was nervous about the whole broody thing. Summer - who is a hybrid has gone broody at least 3 times this year.

 

Not so nervous about it now though so I may let her have her way next year.

 

The wire cat carrier up on bricks sorts her out.

[Smudge]

Thanks for your replies. She does seem to be a bit half-hearted about it, so we'll just keep on as we are for a few days and see what happens. We're going on hols in a week's time and our neighbours are going to be looking after the girls - I don't think they'll want to be messing about with flowerpots and turfing her out, so I think if she hasn't snapped out of it by then we'll just have to let her get on with it. Have thought about the broody cage idea, as we've read some of the stuff on here about broodiness, but we'd have to buy one and the OH is already a bit touchy about how much money we've spent on the girls! Apart from no-eggs for us, I don't suppose it does them any harm at all to let them obey their amazing natural instincts.

[chicken bark]

It can do them harm in the long term if they are left broody as they don't eat and drink enough. You might be okay as yours is not fully broody.

 

If it were me and as you are going away I'd put her in a cage for 3 days that should sort it for when you are away.

 

You just need to keep her somewhere where the air can circulate around her underneath and that is not comfortable enough for her to be able to make a nest in.

 

Good luck and enjoy your holiday.

[Smudge]

We managed to borrow a wire pet carrier from a friend so we're giving the broody cage a go. Onion's now been in there for 24hours, but I feel so bad keeping her in there it's like we're punishing her for just obeying her natural instincts! We've set it up on bricks next to the run so that she can still see and talk to Sage, who yesterday during her FR time wouldn't go far from Onion in the broody cage - I don't think she could understand what was going on. We'll see what happens.....!

[chicken bark]

Stick with it. They make you feel guilty and it does seem cruel. But the alternative of letting her stay broody without sitting on eggs can be crueller.

 

Only two more days to go and hopefully she will be sorted.

[Smudge]

My OH let her out last night..... but 2 days and a night seem to have done the trick.

 

He got home before me and went up to sort out her food/water and as he opened the top of the cage he says she literally just flew out! She ran over to join Sage in the garden, so we kept an eye out until it was their bedtime and she never went near the nest box.

 

Checked on them this morning and they were both out in the run pecking about and it didn't look like anyone had slept in the nest box. So fingers crossed it looks like she's snapped out of it.

 

It was a bit difficult for us as we felt so cruel, but having experienced how well it works if either of them start with this behaviour again there'll be no messing about, straight into the broody cage.

 

Thanks for the advice and support.

[chicken bark]

Glad she has got over it.

 

I've got one in the cage at the moment - she was in it last week but after a night escaped when I went to change her water. So I know what your OH means by them flying out. I left it for a few days but then she gradually increased the time in the nesting box again. So back into the cage. She's very cross with me but I know it is for the best.