My lavender orpington hen ate a whole bag of dried mealworms and went broody for 6 weeks straight

I left the bag open in the run by accident last month and she just went to town on them... next thing I know she's sitting on every egg in the coop like her life depends on it. She wouldn't even get up to eat or drink for days and I had to physically move her to the food dish. Has anyone else had a hen go weird after scarfing down too many treats?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_morgan14d ago

Laughing at myself because I totally did this last spring with my buff brahma. Left the bag of dried mealworms open on the porch and she ate so many she got super fat and then sat on a golf ball for three weeks like it was her actual baby. I had to pry her off the damn thing with a spatula while she gave me the stink eye. These girls really don't know when to stop with the snacks, do they?

charles_kim13d ago

Well, I read somewhere that dried mealworms are basically like candy for chickens, so no wonder she went wild. Too much protein and fat can really mess with their hormones and trigger that broody behavior, especially in orpingtons since they're already prone to it. Your best bet is to just keep her off the nest and maybe hide the treat bags better in the future.