# My Broody hen is walking backwards



## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

After a week of my broody Bok bok, sitting on her 4 eggs, which I bought for her to keep her happy-won't do that again. she has hardly moved from the nest, or got up to eat, food is just within reach for her. She has her own coop so is not disturbed. I'm concerned for her health if she is not eating and drinking. Yesterday was the first sign of wanting to eat and poop. then she walked backwards shaking her head doing a little jig. I thought it might be because she's been cooped up haha for so long she was disoriented. Should I be concerned? I'm new to broody hens, she's a Pekin Bantam.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

If she's not eating or pooping, and walking backwards, I would think something neurogical. I don't know if you can do anything about it , you could try multi B vitamins. How skinny is she? Is she eating or just looking like she's eating?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Remember what I said, put her food and water away from her nest? She needs that little bit of moving around to maintain some physical condition. I know you said there wasn't a ton of space. What I would do is put a food dish and water dish down outside of her coop pen. Take her out of the nest and put her next to them. Let her eat, drink, defecate, possibly dust bathe and return to her nest on her own. I would do that first thing in the morning and the last time before lights out.

Are you absolutely certain she is eating? This could be a sign that she's not getting the nutrition she needs.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

Yes she is eating porridge and yogurt and vitamins and garlic about a dessert spoon. Drinking a bit too.yes morning and evening I take her out of her nest and put her in front of her food. That's when she starts walking backwards, I replace her in front of her food and she takes a few more pecks and we are done. She's not interested in exploring or dust bathing just wants to sit. So I'm letting her not much else I can do.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

In the first post it says her food and water is near her. In another post you said your coop is small. Putting those two things together it sounds very much like the food is within a foot or two of her. That is too close. I would take her feathery behind 20 feet out to the food and water. 

Stop all the extraneous stuff. Except for the vitamins there is not enough balanced nutrition there for her. Her attention needs to be on nutrition at this point.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

Robin416 as you can see I'm trying everything hoping she will get off her butt and move out of the nest on her own to eat. Bit by bit she is eating something, not touching her layer pellets, just stands there. I gave her scrambled eggs and put some of her pellets in that with the vitamins she took 2 mouthfuls. She is skinny, lost some weight. Seems alert, except for this behaviour of walking backwards. Yes I have pulled her out of the nest and placed her out in her run to move about. How long for the eggs to hatch? Some say 3 weeks maybe less for a bantam. Counting the days and hope she recovers.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

New broodies can be a royal pain in the behind and you've got one. Unfortunately for you she's going to make this whole thing a challenge this time around. As they mature they become less obsessive about sticking to the nest. Most of the time.

Make her up a gruel of her pellets. Make it soft and mushy. Add chopped eggs if you think that will tempt her in to eating. Don't mix a lot since she'll eat just a small amount. Take her out first thing in the morning and again just before lights out. 

21 days on the eggs hatching if they're chickens. 

Do you know how to candle? It might be a good idea to make sure she's not sitting on duds. If she is then the fun begins in trying to break her.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Valentine,slow down and take a deep breath!!!No reason to get excited.Your hen is doing what chickens have been doing for millions of years,long before humans showed up and starting meddling in their affairs.It is not uncommon for a hen to set and stay there.There will be some wasting.If the hen is hungry/thirsty she will go to her food and water.It's ok to place her near her food and water but if she doesn't want it,she won't eat/drink.You know that old saying-"you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink".My favorite hen lays in the house and when she goes broody,I take the eggs but she still sets like she's incubating eggs.She gets up every 2-3 days for food/water.The last time lasted over 6 weeks and had one helluva time breaking her.It's instinct and hopefully the eggs hatch,then everybody will be happy.If the eggs don't hatch by day 23 I would remove them.They do rot and then stick to the hen.Good luck!!!


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

You guys have been such a support you can't imagine. Finally she has turned the corner ate her starter mixture with gusto. I stayed up all night reading about raising chickens, us Suburbia folk really need to do our homework before acquiring these amazing birds. I am in awe of their resilience and yet so much can go wrong. I put her out of her coop and left her to it she actually hopped onto her roosting area and settled down to sit on her 4 eggs precious. she still walks backwards but now I know she needs Vitamin E to stabilise her, and that apparently is in starter feeds. I didn't know that. I have all the products now and will let her be. As they say "Let it Be" 
Valentine


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Be careful feeding chick feed if it's medicated. That opens up a new can of worms by blocking the absorption of Vitamin K.

E is also in adult food as part of vitamin ration. Her issue was that she was not eating enough to sustain her biologic balance. Now that appears she's more open to eating things might settle down a bit. 

Could there be an issue with the pellets? Many prefer crumbles and avoid pellets, mostly the bantams because pellets are just too large.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Is there any way she got a good bump on the head?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

With head trauma they usually tuck their heads between their legs. First hand experience with that with my Head Tuck.


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## Cockadoodledoo (Jan 28, 2016)

Probably unrelated. But, in wry neck it's good to give vitamin E and selenium. Both of which are in eggs. Couldn't hurt to keep giving her some scrambled eggs. After all that's their first 'meal' (absorbing the yolk sack) can't be closer to nature than that


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

Yes, she does enjoy her scrambled eggs the most, now with non-medicated starter she seems a lot more alert. I mix the two together. Checked out her eggs last night definitely has 3 chicks on the way, she keeps discarding one repeatedly so decided to remove it. Felt bad but better than a mess later. No red mites in coop none on her either. She is pooping and getting on with it. Hooray.
Valentine


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Excellent news. The next time she goes broody she shouldn't be such a pain in the neck. And it's good she's got peeps on the way. As determined as she's been she would have gone right back to being broody if she didn't have any to raise this time around.

BTW, it would probably be a good idea to have a source of fertile eggs for when she does this again in a month or so.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

No way, she can just get over it. We are not allowed more than six chooks in Suburbia. Hopefully these fluffy treasures will survive, lots to learn how to here as well.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What you can try is to find fertile eggs and set it up so any peeps that hatch and she's done raising can be returned to where the eggs came from. You can also set it up so the peeps go to someone who wants some young birds.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

Do they really become broody that often? How long do most chickens survive?


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

*Book bok eating*

Here is Bok bok eating Queenie in the garden


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Some go broody very often, usually when they're under two years old They'll go broody several times a year. I've got one Silkie now that is six or seven years old and still goes broody four times a year. My two 8 year old SS Hamburgs just quit going broody this year. I think they quit laying, I had thought they quit a couple of years ago but then they both started up again and then went broody.

My oldest is now 11. Karen, Seminole Wind, has a couple that are even older.

Being as your girl is a Cochin you're liable to see her go broody quite often. Some will raise their peeps for weeks and weeks. Others quit after two, lay a few eggs, then go broody again. That was how my Chicklett has been most of her life.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Robin, my oldests are 9. One is laying an egg on occasion. 2 in a row this week. Go figure.

Robin, I met you over me needing help with Eddy. He was walking circles backwards and turned his neck around so he could see. I spoon fed him for a month. After that, every time I went outside, I would stand him in front of his food and water. It got so that when he saw me he would go right to his food. I got a whole page of stories about Ugly Eddy.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

This session of broodiness has tested the waters for me. I'm not sure I can do another in a few months. I might just get her some fake eggs and buy some chicks and tuck them under her in future, so how long can fertile eggs last before the chicken sits on them. I was surprised that my produce place just had them available.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Karen, I don't know why I thought you had a couple that were in their teens. But I did. Yes, I remember meeting over a sick bird but dang, woman that was a while back. Good thing you have a long memory and have the details.

Valentine, it's all part of keeping chickens. If you end up with breeds that are known to go broody it's something you'll have to deal with. If you get live chicks don't get them until she's been broody for a couple of weeks at least. She may not come out of it just because she has chicks there if you give them to her too soon.

Depending on the conditions they're kept in a couple of weeks isn't a stretch to have the eggs still viable for hatch.

Not months, weeks. For going broody, that is.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Valentine said:


> Do they really become broody that often? How long do most chickens survive?


A chicken can live 20+ yrs but the average lifespan is 1 yr due to predators.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

My sweet Peking has wasted away, possibly ignorance on my part and possibly she was sick and I thought she was broody. She hasn't eaten now for over a week, nothing I do gives her encouragement to want to eat. She took a sip of water yesterday but today she has become so listless she just collapses in my arms. it's very distressing to see her this way. 
I'm at odds what to do now with these eggs. I thought she had turned the corner, but instead she was on a downhill slide. Reading about Mareks I fear it is what she is resembling. Guess I will have to wait it out. Not sure what to do with these eggs guess just toss them. Very sad.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

YOU CAN INCUBATE if you want. i'm so sorry. it's happened so many times to me. she may not have been broody but sick. If she had Marek's, there would be nothing you could do any way. If it was , your whole flock is exposed. Any eggs you hatch will have to be incubated, given a Marek's vaccination, and strict quarantine for at least 3 weeks. I just lost one that stopped walking. Otherwise she looked normal. They usually do waste away because they look like they're eating but they're not. I have hatched eggs in an incubator , vaccinated, and quarantined with good results.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

I've decided to bring her inside away from stress, she may just be frightened. I've put her in a dogs crate with some fresh starter feed and water, see how she goes tonight. Seems a shame to come this far and collapse. Very odd though, can't describe how I feel and what she looks like.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

Thanks seminolewind, I don't have an incubator set up, it's still in its box, hubby is away. I'm hoping she may pick up been inside.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Chickens hide the fact they are sick because other flock members will kill it.Do not feel bad,it's how nature works.If you know your flock well,you may be able to notice odd behaviors indicating illness or injury like standing/laying a lot more w/ eyes closed and feathers puffed,pale comb including the comb falling over,listlessness,distancing itself from the flock and the tail drooping.There are many little signs and you have to be observant.The sooner you notice the signs,the sooner you can treat it.Always take a suspected sick bird from the flock immediately,for the sick bird's safety and the health of the rest of the flock.Some diseases will kill the entire flock if left untreated.Try giving your hen some Gatorade to replace electrolytes and other needed minerals and vitamins and try giving her liquid nutrition like Ensure for calories and other nutrition she needs to survive.It may pick her up enough to encourage her to try to eat on her own.You can give it to her w/ a needleless syringe,eye dropper or other like instrument but don;t do a large amount all at once because you don't want it to go into the lungs-slow and steady,allowing her to swallow what you are giving her.Good luck!!!


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

Chicken queen I know exactly what you mean, I am very observant when it comes to my animals, I just read this situation wrong she came to us out from the street, I was away on holidays in Hawaii at the time so she didn't blend with my other hens. I didn't get a chance to see if she was mite and lice free.We have a small coop I use for any illness or quarantine so she made this her home. I was going to buy her another hen to keep her company when I noticed she just wanted to huddle in her coop, so I figured she could have her own chicks by hatching them, I bought 4 fertilised eggs as I thought she was broody, probably was but the mites have sapped her energy. I will get all the Gatorade etc, good idea. She was so healthy, now she's riddled with lice and mites, I'm treating that at the same time she is broody. Poor thing. I just popped in to see how she is seems to be doing much better. At least she won't have the predators annoying her. 
I should have brought her in earlier, but I read not to move them, she's been sitting on the eggs all night, hope at least she becomes a mum.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

bugs can certainly drain all their strength.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Infestation of external parasites will cause anemia so try giving her extra iron and protein to help recover from the anemia.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

She passed away today chickenqueen. I was so devastated, poor sweetie she could hardly breathe at the vets. I found an Avian vet and I was hoping she was going to fix her up but Bok bok had a neurological virus, and not much could be done for her so we decided to put her to sleep. What a terrible experience I won't forget it that's for sure. Everyone's comments helped to sort through the problem but I guess she needed the vets sooner. I tossed the darn eggs away. Don't think I'll tackle that again. Yes I think she was sick rather than broody.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I'm sorry for your loss!It's devastating to lose a beloved pet.Don't give up on chickens.We've all been through experiences like yours and it's part of keeping chickens.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

Yes it is devastating, not sure what to do, keep looking for her. I may just wait a while.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Valentine said:


> She passed away today chickenqueen. I was so devastated, poor sweetie she could hardly breathe at the vets. I found an Avian vet and I was hoping she was going to fix her up but Bok bok had a neurological virus, and not much could be done for her so we decided to put her to sleep. What a terrible experience I won't forget it that's for sure. Everyone's comments helped to sort through the problem but I guess she needed the vets sooner. I tossed the darn eggs away. Don't think I'll tackle that again. Yes I think she was sick rather than broody.


i'm very sorry. I know how devastated you must feel. sometimes there is nothing you can do. ((hugs))


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

*My broody is walking backwards*



seminolewind said:


> bugs can certainly drain all their strength.


I've had time to digest all you have said Semi, and you were spot on with it being a neurological problem with my broody. I'm also thinking back when my grandson picked her up and threw her in the air, I nearly throttled him, this was wayback in Sept. though, but it could still have had something to do with it. so just want to say thanks Semi and all of you for helping. A friend is selling Pekin bantams I may go and buy 2, as there was only 1 of bok bok and my older hens kept pecking her so I kept them separate.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

well i'm sorry. it's hard when there's nothing you can do, and hard when you guilt yourself feeling that there's more you could have done if you guessed the right thing.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Get a couple of new chickens,it really helps...


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

yea. I don't think of it as replacement. I think of new ones as just wanting more. some birds you just can't replace.


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

If I could have my way I'd get dozens of them but limited here in the city to 4-6 I have two now. I will definitely get 2 more need to re-house the coop.


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## DLL (Feb 14, 2017)

Brooding hens need encouragement to "move on" and leave the brooding behind. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I agree, to get her to move make sure her food and water are far enough away that she has to get up and move.


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