redcharlie43 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I have a light sussex hydrid who is acting oddly. She is about 2 years old and has been laying soft shelled eggs for the last few months. I have tried all the usual remedies but they haven't worked. For the last 3 days she has not been keen to leave the nest box much. Her vent is continually twitching and she looks like she is trying to pass an egg. Other than that she seems well. She is pooing, her comb is red, she is eating and drinking when I take her out of the nest box and scratching around and has come out of the cube in the mornings to eat and drink and have a wander about as well as dust bath. She is not hunched and her tail is up as normal but she does seem to be preening an awful lot. I cannot see or feel any problems with her vent or abdomen and yesterday tried giving her a warm bath that didn't seem to produce anything. She has not lost any weight and looks very healthy. When I go to move her she puffs herself up and makes grumpy noises but is feisty as ever and tries to escape me. When she has had a wander around and something to eat and drink she goes straight back to the nest box. They are wormed regularly and due for worming again about now. There are no signs of mites etc. Does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong? I thought maybe egg bound but she doesn't seem to have the symptoms I have read about, doesn't seem particularly unwell and still eating and drinking. If she is just passing a soft shelled egg how long could this take? At the moment she is only laying 1-2 eggs a week if that. I don't want to take her to the vets yet as she seems quite well except for the unusual behavior. Any thoughts are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
good_egg Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Is she pancaked when she is in the nest box? I can always tell when Dotty is broody as she gets fatter and flatter and sort of becomes a blob of hen with an angry head instead of conventional sitting laying an egg shape.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcharlie43 Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 Thanks for the reply. I am more inclined to think she is broody rather than egg bound. This morning she was out and about and dust bathing and when I got home this afternoon she was back in the nest box. As the others had laid their eggs i decided to take her out of the nest box and then shut the cube so she couldn't get back inside. Now She is having a massive hen diva strop. I scattered some corn which she is now attacking but if any of the other hens come anywhere near her she is pecking them, growling and puffing herself up. She growled at me and puffed herself up when I picked her up and is now doing the same to the other hens if they come near. I will open the cube again at bedtime and see what she does in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egghead68 Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 That's good. I now have the same problem. My pekin seems to want to stay on the nest box but I am not convinced she is broody as she doesn't pancake when I put her elsewhere. She does throw straw over her shoulder a bit though. She didn't lay yesterday for the first time in a while and was frantic looking for her eggs. She is still eating and pooing and doesn't look unwell. She whimpers when I take her off the nest but doesn't growl. I have given her calcium/warm bath/liquid paraffin vent massage in case. Fingers crossed she is just broody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcharlie43 Posted July 8, 2013 Author Share Posted July 8, 2013 Not broody anymore! Yeah! Felt awful as put her in a dog cage in the run. The first night she was really pacing and I felt horrible. I let her out into the run and she went straight to the nest box and was still there the following afternoon. So I steeled myself and put her back in the cage and left her there overnight. This morning I let her out before I went to work and when I got home she was FR with the others like normal. Fingers crossed I have broken her broodiness, although I do feel bad about giving her a hot bath and squirting olive oil up her bum! Imagine if someone did this every time we had PMT!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egghead68 Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Turns out mine was (semi) broody too! Huge broody patch and feathers everywhere. I locked the nestbox all day and she seems to have snapped out of it. I feel really bad about the oil and bath too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneyolktoanother Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 One of my hens Bertha (buff orpington) has been v Broody for just under 2 month's we have tryed everything arghhh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
