My Hen Won't Sit On Her Eggs And The Rooster And Hen Have Bald Spots On Their Head Any Ideas To Help?
I have two White-topped Black Polish chickens a male and female. The hen laid about 20 or so eggs in this barrel nest thing but she won't sit on them she just walks off. And the rooster and hen both have bald spots on the very top of their feather Afros but theirs feathers all around it and their not very old either and are perfectly healthy and tame.
I know that chickens wont sit on their eggs until they have a "clutch" but 20 eggs sounds like a clutch to me. Maybe she's not done laying or some of the eggs have died. How long did it take her to lay the 20 eggs?
Sorry, but my chickens never got a bald spot so I have no idea.
Hens get bald spots from stress and in-fighting. I'm sure you've heard of 'pecking order'. It's quite literal. Perhaps the two have suddenly decided to fight for top chicken, or perhaps there is predator nearby increasing their anxiety. The constant egg laying must be stressful as well. Look into ways to slow her egg laying. I've heard of a similar problem before. When a hen comes to realize none of the eggs are hatching, she lays more and more and fails to properly care for them. It is a nesting problem. Remove the eggs for now and let her grow comfy on an empty nest. See if her egg laying slows any. If it does, let her sit on one egg, continuously, remove the others. It might calm her. This is purely theoretical, based on a similar situation I observed.