Broody hen panting, hot crop

[Emrosenagel]

Hello!

I have a very stubborn broody hen. She went broody a little over a week ago and is not responding to any breaking techniques. I have her in a cage in the AC with no bedding; she just sits on the bottom, brooding. I put ice under her, she just melted it. A few days ago she started panting while inside and she’s very hot. Is that normal? I just want to break her broodiness and get her back to normal!

She is a 1 year old bantam Cochin. She’s still eating and drinking with normal broody poops.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She may be sick instead of broody.

How cool is it inside?

She may be having trouble with an egg - yes, I know, she's broody, but she still may be having trouble with an egg.

I'd get some Extra Calcium into her. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily for 5 days, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

Is her crop emptying?

 

[Emrosenagel]

She may be sick instead of broody.

How cool is it inside?

She may be having trouble with an egg - yes, I know, she's broody, but she still may be having trouble with an egg.

I'd get some Extra Calcium into her. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily for 5 days, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

Is her crop emptying?

She is 100% broody, no doubt about it. She does the broody cluck if I put her outside to walk around, puffs up and screams at me when I get too close. She goes broody every couple months, but last time it was easy to break. And we keep the air at 72 inside.

As for her crop, she has been having issues with it for months. This hen is my problem chicken. I’ve been to the vet multiple times and had it drained (the day before she went broody, actually). I don’t think her chronic crop issue has anything to do with it, since the panting only started when she went broody.

I’ll go ahead and give her some extra calcium, just in case.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does she have a blockage in the digestive system?

Have you tried a crop bra or what treatments have you used to remedy the crop problem.

A crop problem can absolutely cause panting and discomfort - I would not dismiss it.

 

[Emrosenagel]

Does she have a blockage in the digestive system?

Have you tried a crop bra or what treatments have you used to remedy the crop problem.

A crop problem can absolutely cause panting and discomfort - I would not dismiss it.

I’m not dismissing it, I’ve just tried everything for it at this point. She isn’t blocked, not completely at least. her crop empties sometimes, other times it doesn’t. She never lost her appetite, never had any weird poop. Had sour crop twice now, but I solved that easily. She wears a crop bra on occasion but it doesn’t seem to really make a difference (we’ve adjusted the fit many times). I’ve tried various different feeds, to no avail. There’s only so much I can do about it, especially when the vet has done X-rays, blood work, stool tests, and cultures. I swear, I’ve never spent more money on a chicken