Has a broody hen ever died from not eating/drinking? I know they say that they get up once a day to do so, but since moving our broddy girl and her clutch some 36 hours ago, I now *KNOW* she hasn't been up to eat, drink and poop in at least that much time. She took to the new place just fine, and got right back on the nest immediately. But she is locked in this little coop so I can tell if she has been up and done her "business". So far, nothing. Should I entice her to eat? She has definitely lost some weight. I could tell that when I picked her up to move her.

We are 11 days into the process. I have only ever seen her get off the nest once, although that doesn't mean anything since I'm certainly not out there 24 hours a day. But now I know for sure of a 36 hour time span. How long can they go without food and water?

Thanks....worried about my girl! We put her on 10 eggs and we candled them yesterday. Nine were developing. Yay!

Susie

You will run into all sorts of problems with broody hens. Check her for lice and mites. Blood suckers will take a toll on broody hens. The blood suckers leave the hen during the day so you will have to look for them in cracks around the nest or check the hen at night. They are easy to spot because after they eat they are bright red, but very small dots. She may be getting off when you aren't looking, but she can still lose weight if she has a parasite problem.

I would have a bowl of hen scratch and water in the pen at all times with my broodies. They are easily trained to get off the nest at a certain time of day. My time was in the morning when I'd come in to change the water and top off the feed. You can entice them off the nest with a blade of grass or one of their favorite garden weeds (a small piece of greens is enough, too much and she could foul her nest). They usually eat, drink and poop and get back on the nest after around 15 minutes.

We've messed up the birds quite a lot in their instincts in breeding for egg production and she may have her wires crossed. Usually the hen will hold to the nest only in the last few days. She goes into a zombie state and just sits there. I've never had a broody that wouldn't get off the nest early in incubation, but maybe Cjeanr has some recommendations.

Susie, Only what others have done. If there is no daily huge smelly poop, take her off the nest and get her to move about a little. Block the nest so she cannot immediately return to the nest. She will be agitated, but in moving around, she should make the big poop, and if water and food are right there, she should snatch a little before you let her back on the nest. I put some scratch on their usual lay ration, as they can hardly resist and it fills them quickly and they feel safer in leaving the nest for a bit. Be sure the grit and oystershell are also right there where you feed her.

Many years ago, I had a hen that was 2 years old, and had not successfully set or hatched. She finally was on her way to a good nesting. She was in a pen, food and water--and like yours, I suddenly noticed that little or no food was gone and that there was no poop! I took her from the nest--and then noticed that the vent was entirely plugged--like cement. She had not passed any poop for some days. I tried to soften and dig out the poop, but was not successful and she died on the nest. This is the only experience I have had with a setting hen not getting off the nest daily. But after all those years, it is one more thing I learned to watch for, so do, after checking as Rokimoto has recommended--do see that she eliminates her poop. CJR

My hen loved to eat pork fat. I guess birds are the only ones that can succesfully metabolize fat, so that's why I fed it, plus she hardly ate anything, so giving her extra energy did not hurt. I suggest you put the food right next to her nose, then she will definitely peck at it. I had to artificially take the hen from the nest, but once she got walking, she basically stayed out for 5 minutes, just enough to eat, drink and make a egg-size pile of "STINK". But I think yours will be fine. Just make sure to close the door in the coop, so that she does not decide that the sun outside beats sitting on these darn eggs :))))

Thank you all SO much! I really feel like we would lose this girl if not for your advice. She truly is withering away.

Parasites are not a problem, thankfully. After freaking out about finding lice a couple of months ago, we check for lice and mites religiously. We pick up birds once or twice a week to check and also check nests and around the coop. I checked her vent, CJR, and she is fine in that department. We forced her to get up last night after reading your messages. She is definitely in that zombie state you describe, Rokimoto. She has been since the beginning. I believe her eyes are dilated and it's as if she can't see further than her beak. I fed her the favorite treat of my flock -- cooked carrots. She wolfed them down and also ate a bit of scratch and layer ration from my hand. She pecked at a few blades of grass also. But she would NOT drink water. I kept dripping it on her beak and she would take that in but that's it.

As soon as day breaks here, I'm going out to repeat all of the above and hoping that some sunshine might snap her out of it enough to get some water in her. I also plan on making a wet mash with her layer crumble and some "treats" so that she is at least taking in some moisture that way.

Sure is strange to see her like this. If you pick her up and set her down, she stays in that "mad broody hen" position -- not quite standing and all fluffed out and fussing -- and she WALKS that way, literally waddling like a duck! You can tap her from behind, which usually sends a chicken scooting out of your way, and she will tip forward until her beak hits the ground. It is SO strange to watch!

Thanks again for letting me know the potential problems. I am still nervous about her but I feel better in that I am at least eliminating some potential issues (parasites, vent pasting) and getting something down her now. I hope today produces a poop. Last night's efforts did not, but I suppose she was empty inside.

Susie

Okay, an update:

This morning I got about 1/4 cup or so of my miracle mash down her. I added a small amount of bacon grease to some layer crumble, a little scratch and chopped, cooked carrots and then water to make a mush. She will ONLY eat from my hand (sigh) and ONLY while ON the nest! I can deal with that. So after getting that in her, I took her off the nest and outside to the sunshine. She ate some grass and a little more scratch that was on the ground. Still ZERO interest in water. I put a tiny bit of sugar in some water and mixed it up and with a syringe I managed to get a couple of tablespoons of that in her. I will repeat all of the above 2 or 3 times a day I think. She is so dehydrated. I am hoping the little bit of sugar water would perk her up. I don't think it's the best thing for battling dehydration though so I plan to get some regular water down her also.

Oh, and this morning's walk outside did produce a very hard, very LARGE poop! So I feel a little better about her now. I just hope we don't lose the battle against dehydration.

Thanks again for all your words of wisdom everybody!!
Susie

Susie, You are doing fine and thank goodness for that poop! Don't worry about her drinking, if you are giving her wet mash and the cooked carrots, she is getting some moisture and with her sort of comotose mode, she does not need the water! A bear hybernating gets NONE, and setting is a form of sort of hybernation. Forcing water can be dangerous as if she gets some in the lungs, she can be in trouble in a couple of days, if infection sets in. Do watch that she poops regulary according to how much she eats.

I have a setting hen in her own pen. I never see her off the nest, but there has been a huge poop for every day she has been setting. Good luck!!! CJR

Thanks again, CJR! I only forced a bit of water the first time. After that, she was willing to drink from the end of the syringe if I just dribbled it near her beak.

Anyway, all is well and I will not worry so much about the water now. We got another huge poop last night and I feel so much more confident. She "looks" better to me, which sounds funny to say since I'm not sure what I'm seeing that makes me feel that. My husband says she has more color to her comb and seems more alert so maybe that is what it is. Also, she was a little shaky on her feet the first time we pulled her off the nest and by last night when we did it again, she was scratching on the ground a little bit and seemed much more stable.

Ok....whew! Now I guess we better get prepped for some babies around here. I hope the hatching goes well. I'll be nervous all over again! LOL! First time with a broody hen for me so I'm sure you'll find some more panic messages next week! LOL!

Susie

Broody hens are amazing creatures. When mine went broody in November, I was thinking, what a bad timing for baby chicks. I dunked her in freezing water, I put her out in the cold, I did everything that "older experienced keepers" said would work, but she was determined. Every morning she was in the nest trying to hatch the freshly laid eggs.

I figured, "Girl, if you want it that bad, and after all this still going back to eggs, I gotta give you the chance." I did.

She ate nothing first week and then I found out that she actually ate 2 out of 8 eggs. That's when I began taking her out of the nest and making her eat and drink. I must admit she was a lot more alive then what you describe. Later I decided that hens really do not like getting off the nest, so I fed her layer ration, pork fat and some grass chucks while she was still sitting. I guess you did it from your hands. I just put it in the feeder next to her. In the last week I neglected to take her off the nest with time contraints and she ended up pooping in the next. But it did not hurt the eggs, and I figured I needed to go back to the practice of pushing her out. I guess being the first time mom she needed someone to think instead of her.

She hatched all 6 eggs and beautufully raised them for 40 days. The moment she laid her first egg is the day she abandoned the little guys.

What breed is your broody?

Hi Aram!

Yes it is quite amazing when they decide they are determined to do this! I didn't try anything drastic to break my broody girl. I did pull her off the nest a few times and carry her outside. She would remain all fluffed up and fussing and walk around in almost a sitting position. She looked like a porcupine! LOL! Then some visitors to the Coop convinced me to try letting her set on eggs. I was thinking it was too cool but now everything I'm reading says this is the perfect time of year for my area. Guess I shouldn't have tried to intervene!

My girl is a Buff Orpington. She is looking so much better now and eating well. I am defintely confident now that she will survive. I just hope she's strong enough to deal with the chicks next week. The way I see it, my efforts in hand feeding her now will pay off tenfold if SHE will brood those chicks! Ha! And yes, I am having to hand feed her. I tried to put a small plastic container up to her in the nest and she attacked it as if it were an invader.(eyeroll) She will have nothing to do with eating my mash mix once she is off the nest. She will only peck a few blades of grass. But setting on the nest and eating out of my hand, she eats like a starving girl. Go figure! I'm just going with it and doing as she tells me. :-)

Susie