Broody Hen Wont Drink Water But is eating.

[Nik-T]

About 3 times a day i have been helping her get the food and water she needs to survive whilst incubating her eggs. It's currently only day 3 and I'm stressing as she won't drink any water. She was drinking alot yesterday but today I haven't seen her drink at all. I've tried to show her, she drank little but she doesn't look interested in it. She does eat from the food nearby. When i Take Her out of the Nest box for fresh air or for dustbath she will tend to do a really massive poop is this also normal in broody hens?

When I take her out regularly she sits down like she still has eggs under her until one the chickens bully her. She will growl at times when I open the nesting box to and puff her feathers to. She always goes to the Sand to dig inside but I really don't like the other hens picking on her since she has bald patches. I Just hope she will be okay as she is only 9 month old and it's stressing for me as I've never experienced broody behaviour from any of my hens. By the way she is light Sussex to. After doing research I found out light susex breed is very likely to be broody and I never knew about this.

 

[fluffycrow]

Hens have been going broody both in the wild and in domestic situations for way longer than any of us have been alive. The vast majority of them know what to do.

While sitting on eggs, a broody hen will not leave the nest much at all. While how long they stay out of the nest and how often they go out depends on many different factors (time of year, temperature and humidity of the location, the individual hen, her experience level and age, just to name a few), most hens will not leave the nest more than once a day.

While off the nest, they will quickly dust bathe, eat, drink, preen and stretch, heading back to the nest quite quickly after that. This whole process doesn’t take much at all, most hens and pullets here are done before the 30 minute mark. Every single hen likes to go out at a different time, and even different brooding attempts from the same hen differ in that regard.

All that is to say, each hen is different, each brooding attempt is different, and trusting that your broody knows what she’s doing is far more helpful.

Trying to get a broody hen to eat and drink three times a day while sitting on the nest sounds like quite a lot of trouble! I’d be looking to remove the food and water that you have in the nest; there is really no reason for it to be there. I would also stop removing her from the nest. If I understood your post correctly, she has eaten today, and yesterday she ate and drank some water. That is far from a bad situation. Let her sit in the nest, with no food and water, and don’t move her at all. She will most likely figure it out on her own in the nest few days.

This can be a stressful time on us as well (especially if it’s our first time, as is yours). It’s hard not to stress, but we need to remember that they know what to do. After all, they’re the chickens and we’re not ! No need to stress if you haven’t seen her getting out for one or two days. I wouldn’t really worry before the fourth day in a row. It’s not uncommon for me to not catch one of the more quiet hens leaving the nest for their break for four or five days. The needs of a broody hen are not the same as those of an active and/or laying hen.

The poop you are seeing is normal. Broodies don’t poop in the nest, to avoid getting it (and the eggs) dirty. Instead, they do one or two big poops each time they leave the nest.

If you need any more help, here is a helpful thread you can look into
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/natural-breeding-thread.1653246/

Good luck to your pullet and you!

 

[Nik-T]

Hens have been going broody both in the wild and in domestic situations for way longer than any of us have been alive. The vast majority of them know what to do.

While sitting on eggs, a broody hen will not leave the nest much at all. While how long they stay out of the nest and how often they go out depends on many different factors (time of year, temperature and humidity of the location, the individual hen, her experience level and age, just to name a few), most hens will not leave the nest more than once a day.

While off the nest, they will quickly dust bathe, eat, drink, preen and stretch, heading back to the nest quite quickly after that. This whole process doesn’t take much at all, most hens and pullets here are done before the 30 minute mark. Every single hen likes to go out at a different time, and even different brooding attempts from the same hen differ in that regard.

All that is to say, each hen is different, each brooding attempt is different, and trusting that your broody knows what she’s doing is far more helpful.

Trying to get a broody hen to eat and drink three times a day while sitting on the nest sounds like quite a lot of trouble! I’d be looking to remove the food and water that you have in the nest; there is really no reason for it to be there. I would also stop removing her from the nest. If I understood your post correctly, she has eaten today, and yesterday she ate and drank some water. That is far from a bad situation. Let her sit in the nest, with no food and water, and don’t move her at all. She will most likely figure it out on her own in the nest few days.

This can be a stressful time on us as well (especially if it’s our first time, as is yours). It’s hard not to stress, but we need to remember that they know what to do. After all, they’re the chickens and we’re not ! No need to stress if you haven’t seen her getting out for one or two days. I wouldn’t really worry before the fourth day in a row. It’s not uncommon for me to not catch one of the more quiet hens leaving the nest for their break for four or five days. The needs of a broody hen are not the same as those of an active and/or laying hen.

The poop you are seeing is normal. Broodies don’t poop in the nest, to avoid getting it (and the eggs) dirty. Instead, they do one or two big poops each time they leave the nest.

If you need any more help, here is a helpful thread you can look into
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/natural-breeding-thread.1653246/

Good luck to your pullet and you!

Wow there's alot i have learned from this. If I want her to hatch chicks I need to Certainly not stress as much as it might affect the eggs developing etc. So Your right, maybe removing her more than twice a day is definitely not a good idea. I'm glad to hear that her poop is normal to. As a newbie to Handling a broody hen it can be difficult I get it but I must try to go easy with it and try not to force her with food or water. if she does go out of th nest box while I'm not around, maybe she goes early in the morning when I'm not there it's hard to identify but all broodies are different.
Thanks for Sharing this information by the way, it's very helpful. I'll do my best to try not to disturb her and try my best to take care of her at the same time. It is only day 3 and it's only the beginning.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Before your pullet started laying she stored up excess fat in her pelvic region. This is fat she mostly lives off of if she goes broody. Nature set it up this way so she can take care of her eggs instead of needing to be off of the nest looking for something to eat or drink.

I've had a broody hen leave her nest twice a day for over an hour each time. I had one that come off 15 minutes each morning and no more. I've had several I never saw off of the nest but I knew they were coming off because they did not poop in the nest.

They have been doing this for thousands of years on instinct. A chick hatched in a hatchery and raised with no adults around knows more about being broody than we ever will. I know it is hard but try to let her.

 

[Nik-T]

It was quite a coincidence but she ended up having mites on her neck so I immediately had to move her to a new area. With clean hay, cosy dark enclosure and a dustbath of course. Hopefully DE will clear out thoes mites. I did Put some of the DE on her and rubbed it around her before placing her into the new area and put some medication in her water to. It's kinda frustrating but when a hen sits down most of the time it's likely to catch if the bedding hasn't been changed for some time. Tbf the nestbox she was in, didn't have any dustbath nearby, as it was a Coop and I'm definitely treating that Coop tommow incase the other laying hens I own dont catch thoes mites.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A Poultry Science PHD once said that mites kill more broody hens than anything else. The hen are trapped there for the mites to feast on.

You are probably talking about roost mites. These hide in the coop during daylight and come out after dark. They are not just on that broody, they are in your coop. You need to treat all of your chickens, not just the broody, and not once but twice about 7 days apart to get the ones that hatch. You also need to clean out the bedding in your coop and nest. That's where they are hiding.

Now the hard part. You need to treat the chickens and the coop with something that works. I suggest spraying with a permethrin based insecticide. Read the label but you can spray the hens, the eggs, and the coop with it to safely kill the mites. They are your chickens, you can try the DE if you wish, but I consider a good permethrin spray as safe if not safer and much more effective.

Good luck!

 

[Nik-T]

Well Today I have cleaned out both nesting boxes and the Coop to. I used a safe inscticide to clear out any eggs if there any around the Coop and of course changed both Hay in the nesting boxes. I find it odd that she caught mites as the other 3 hens I own dont have any mites on their skin going through the feathers. Maybe it is because they are taking a Dustbath while she doesn't seam to be bothered about doing it. Hope she will be okay as brooding for her does make her little weak. Well I have to encourage her daily to Eat and drink, she will eat alot but won't drink from me. When she is in her area she will drink very little without me knowing. Possibly not drinking enough is causing her voice to be sort of broken and lost which is also a worry for me to. I candled the eggs and found out for day 5 most of them where doing great, especially the few quail eggs I added under her, appears to be Fertile with a tiny embryo inside.

 

[Mrs. K]

Thing is - leave her alone. I am amazed that she has remained broody with that much commotion. It was a good thing that you took care of the mites.

It really is not necessary to feed her or carry water to her. In the animal world, while animals will defend their young to the point of death, they will not a clutch of eggs. They can always lay eggs later, if they are alive. They will not brood themselves to death.

They will not starve themselves or die of thirst unless you have her locked away where she cannot take care of her needs. She should have the freedom to get off the nest, get a drink, eat a bit, take a poop, and then go back to the trance like state of being broody on the nest. In that state they do not need as much food.

The more you leave her alone, the better the chances of hatching eggs.

Many people, with the best of intentions, trying hard to do things right, interfere with the broody process, and actually cause more damage by upsetting the hen, sometimes to the point where she will eat her young.

She knows more about being a chicken than we will ever know, let her do it.

Mrs K

 

[Nik-T]

Thing is - leave her alone. I am amazed that she has remained broody with that much commotion. It was a good thing that you took care of the mites.

It really is not necessary to feed her or carry water to her. In the animal world, while animals will defend their young to the point of death, they will not a clutch of eggs. They can always lay eggs later, if they are alive. They will not brood themselves to death.

They will not starve themselves or die of thirst unless you have her locked away where she cannot take care of her needs. She should have the freedom to get off the nest, get a drink, eat a bit, take a poop, and then go back to the trance like state of being broody on the nest. In that state they do not need as much food.

The more you leave her alone, the better the chances of hatching eggs.

Many people, with the best of intentions, trying hard to do things right, interfere with the broody process, and actually cause more damage by upsetting the hen, sometimes to the point where she will eat her young.

She knows more about being a chicken than we will ever know, let her do it.

Mrs K

I have left her be for now and haven't touched her or her eggs since day 5 and she seams to be doing Fine. I just wanted to know if having a pale comb like this is normal? Her voice does sound little broken still but is normal when she is out of the nest box. I might check tonight incase she don't have any mites but i haven't seen any on her after treatment. I just want to know if the pale comb is normal, just incase she is not sick or anything . Her beak is little dirty from the boiled egg i crushed earlier for her but yeah

 

[Ridgerunner]

A pale comb means she is not laying eggs. It does not mean she is not healthy. A pale comb tells the rooster he does not need to mate her as she has no eggs to fertilize.

It is a good question, it shows you are paying attention, but nothing to worry about.