Strange broody behaviour.

[krista74]

My girl, a RIR, has followed in the foot-steps of four of my other RIR's and has gone broody on me. She has spent the past 5 days and nights in a broody buster cage, with a break outside in the run to stretch her legs and dust-bathe in the mornings and afternoons.

Both yesterday and today, I have let her out into the run with the flock, locked up the coop so she couldn't access the nest boxes and left her to it. I have been very surprised to see that when I returned a couple of hours later she has already put herself back in the broody buster cage! All I have to do is lock the door.

I thought the whole idea was that they are not meant to like it in there! She seems to be treating it like her holiday home, lol.

Is this unusual behaviour? There is nothing comforting about the broody buster cage at all - it's just a wire cage, raised off the ground, with a small roost in it and some pellets and water. No nesting materials what-so-ever.

- Krista

 

[sourland]

Sounds like the 'smart girl' thinks she is on holiday.

 

[aart]

Huh!! Funny!

Have you given her a chance to access the nests during her breaks?
Time to test that out I think.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Huh!! Funny!

Have you given her a chance to access the nests during her breaks?
Time to test that out I think.

I agree with the above. I think that she is busted, broken, and bewildered. She just thinks that the cage is now her new roosting place.

 

[centrarchid]

Is she still broody?

 

[krista74]

I had considered that but no, she's very much still broody.

I let her out every morning whilst the coop is open to test her, and she flies out of her cage, puffs up and heads straight for the nest. Then she screams the house down when I have to get her out and into the buster cage again! She only wants to go there voluntarily it seems!

She is also walking around holding her wings out from her body, and with her tail feathers fanned out to make herself look big and scary, lol. And she grizzles a lot, doing that low bok, bok, bok clucking that broody hens do.

What I do think though is that she is right on the brink. I think the buster cage is working, slowly, and that whilst she is not completely back to normal she is starting to revert back to 'normal.'.

Last night I let the flock out of the run for an hour's free ranging time before dusk. She flew out of her open buster cage and ran off to play with the others. However, she went back to the cage after 15 minutes of being out, and the others stayed out for a further hour before returning to the coop.

I think we are getting there. Slowly! Hopefully tonight she will stay out a bit longer....

- Krista