My barred rock hen moe is acting strange.

I cannot figure this hen out. Usually during the day she goes to the neighbors and only comes home to lay her egg and to roost. The last two weeks she's been acting odd. It started with her eggs. She took two eggs back to her nest that i had set on a shelf while i finished my chores. So i let her keep them thinking she was getting Broody. But then she'd leave to the neighbours like usual. I didn't collect her eggs for a week and not one time did she sit on her eggs other than to lay another egg. So i collected them, candled them and threw them out. (none of them had developed) after i did that she went on the defensive. Any time she sees me near the coop she runs around me clucking loudly (she's the only one of my chickens that runs freely in my yard because she's my only surviving hen from last year) she stays home almost all day but she isn't sitting on her eggs! She's just making sure no one messes with them. I love my Moe and want her to be happy but she's being a little pill. If she wants to brood I'll let her but i also like my eggs for eating. What do i do?

Your hen isn't broody, so collect your eggs daily for eating. A broody hen stays on the nest continuously and only gets off once a day.

If she's the only survivor from her group she's probably lonely and doesn't feel safe in your yard, but she's bonded to your coop so she comes back to lay eggs.

Hens can't carry eggs so I don't know how she took eggs back.

It's best not to use human logic and behavior to understand your hens behaviors, just collect her eggs and feed and water her.

Is she your only chicken? Is there a reason she's not kept with the others? For her mental well being she needs a flock.

She rolls them. The were on plate on the shelf next to her nesting box. when she was with her original flock she would roll the other hens eggs into her nest.I have seen her do it. I really hope that wasn't a shot at my intelligence because I know "hens can't carry eggs" my parents raised free range chickens I grew up around chickens. I know what a hen does when they're broody but i haven't seen a hen act like this. I was asking for advice. I wasn't asking to be insulted by a complete stranger.

As far as human logic and behavior goes she is my favorite hen. She has somewhat of a personality and that is why i named her. I'm not going to be dismissive of my hen when her behavior changes. I joined this site because I love and care for chickens, I don't just farm mindless birds. And I'm not going to tolerate feeling bullied on a chicken advice thread by someone who ends the same insulting post with "for her mental well being she needs a flock"

My other flock of chickens are in a coop with a large netted outside enclosure. Not only are they too young to be in with an older hen, but Moe didn't like being penned. (Again, I enjoy my chickens and their individual personalities and take their behavior into consideration) I moved here because there was already a coop and shed started for chickens.The people who lived at my residence before me abandoned chickens and a duck which was Moe's original flock. I relocated the duck to my neighbors so the duck had other ducks to be with. The other chickens and Moe free ranged and stayed in the coop that the previous owners started and didn't finish. I cleaned it up but couldn't fix it during the winter. Predators took out almost all of them except Moe and one other hen. I tried to pen them up as soon as the ground thawed and the other hen had to be put down after trying to escape, injuring her wing. So I let Moe out and decided not to pen her.

She usually goes to the neighbors everyday, like I said before, and hangs out with his chickens so I'm not worried about her being part of a flock because as far as I can tell she gets along with those chickens fine. They come over here to eat with my hen now that she's staying around home but she chases them out of her side of the coop.

So...does anyone else have any advice?

Sorry, I wasn't insulting you, some people don't know stuff, I wasn't aware of your knowledge and I didn't mean any insult. I was just answering your questions to the best of my abilities and knowledge. Since you have added more information, which is more helpful, than I will leave your post for others to answer because you don't want my help. Again, sorry, but you are making the same assumptions of me, and I always try to be respectful but obviously failed this time.

I think you should get a few more hens..I would.
She is being bossy with you only because she has no other hens to have a pecking order with. The egg hoarding is her way of being boss. Collect the egg everyday and don't allow her to boss you.

Interesting point...I have some barred rocks that are young. I got them the last week of March. The last time I let them out she chased and pecked them. However, that was about 3 weeks ago. Still worry about predators though. We have a rather large owl and hawk population where I'm at.

woodshen said:

Interesting point...I have some barred rocks that are young. I got them the last week of March. The last time I let them out she chased and pecked them. However, that was about 3 weeks ago. Still worry about predators though. We have a rather large owl and hawk population where I'm at.

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Sometimes we have to start thinking like a chicken....Haha! Get them all together. I would and free range while you have time to sit with them.