Broody hen stopped eating

[Emrosenagel]

Hello!

I have a Cochin that went broody 4 weeks ago, give or take. I tried my hardest to break it, but no matter what I did she stayed vigilant. I decided to let her ride it out and hope she would come out of it by herself. Since the start, she ate very well and drank regularly, with normal broody poops. She dust bathed abc foraged before returning to her eggless nest. But as of four days ago, she pretty much stopped eating. No chicken food, even when I leave right next to her; no treats, except for a few sunflower seeds and maybe some grass. She isn’t as energetic as she has been, but doesn’t really look sickly. Her comb is red, she still puffs up at me if I bother her. Her poops aren’t runny or anything, just greener and more grassy. I wouldn’t be so worried about if this behavior was consistent, but she had been eating so much before and then just stopped. Does this have something to do with her being broody for the whole incubation period? Like, is she waiting for the eggs to hatch? She hatched chicks back in February, but I didn’t pay enough attention to remember how she acted then. I do remember once she had the chicks, she never ate anything. I just don’t want her to starve herself.

Thanks!

 

[aart]

I tried my hardest to break it, but no matter what I did she stayed vigilant.

What all did you try?
This has always worked for me, some take a few days, others can take longer.

I do remember once she had the chicks, she never ate anything.

I've never seen this...she would normally be eating while teaching the chicks to eat.

 

[Emrosenagel]

What all did you try?
This has always worked for me, some take a few days, others can take longer.


I've never seen this...she would normally be eating while teaching the chicks to eat.

I started with locking her out of the coop, and then when that didn’t work she came inside to broody jail. But she turned broody jail into her nest, and would go broody on the ground wherever I set her down. She got a cool water dunk twice, and I put some ice near her in a bag (not underneath). After that, I just let her sit.
And when I say she didn’t eat anything, I meant she ate very little when showing the chicks how to eat. I noticed her eating lots of shavings at the time, barely any chicken food, and she always took treats. I really just want to know why she isn’t eating right now.

 

[aart]

But she turned broody jail into her nest, and would go broody on the ground wherever I set her down.

This is why the breaker crate(jail) needs to be wire mesh on the bottom and raised off the ground.
Got a pic of your jail?