SillyBird
In the Brooder
Hi,
I can't seen to download videos so I have to describe what is happening and hope some of you out there can shed some light. My year plus old meat king hen, Coconut, has done the following behaviour twice since yesterday, once out in her fenced yard and once in her coop: She stands there looking very alert/scared...and makes the loudest noises...like ba bak KAA over and over again. She does not run...just stands there very upright, very alert. I thought maybe a rat or other small animal had run through her yard and scared her or something. The other two laying hens, who have their own coop and yard, right next to and visible to her, were a bit on alert, but quiet, in the yard when it happened the first time. Today though, the second time it happened, everyone was in their sides of the coop and when Coconut started this, the laying hens were totally fine--no reaction. We have set up a live trap outside the coop in case and I'm wondering...is this behaviour due to a predator or is there another reason or reasons that my dear pet hen might be doing this noisy behavior? When I went in with her tonite when she did this she immediately stopped but was still looked a bit 'alarmed'...definately unusual, so I stayed about 15 minutes in there as she settled as I stroked her gently and sang to her. She got into her hay bed and was quiet, then I left. Not sure if she is has something physically wrong with her as she is not doing anything physically unusual at the time other than the loud squawking. I feel bad for her. I don't know what do. I don't mind the noise, I just feel very bad and concerned that she is being stressed for some reason that I don't understand. Thanks for your thoughts on this.
I can't seen to download videos so I have to describe what is happening and hope some of you out there can shed some light. My year plus old meat king hen, Coconut, has done the following behaviour twice since yesterday, once out in her fenced yard and once in her coop: She stands there looking very alert/scared...and makes the loudest noises...like ba bak KAA over and over again. She does not run...just stands there very upright, very alert. I thought maybe a rat or other small animal had run through her yard and scared her or something. The other two laying hens, who have their own coop and yard, right next to and visible to her, were a bit on alert, but quiet, in the yard when it happened the first time. Today though, the second time it happened, everyone was in their sides of the coop and when Coconut started this, the laying hens were totally fine--no reaction. We have set up a live trap outside the coop in case and I'm wondering...is this behaviour due to a predator or is there another reason or reasons that my dear pet hen might be doing this noisy behavior? When I went in with her tonite when she did this she immediately stopped but was still looked a bit 'alarmed'...definately unusual, so I stayed about 15 minutes in there as she settled as I stroked her gently and sang to her. She got into her hay bed and was quiet, then I left. Not sure if she is has something physically wrong with her as she is not doing anything physically unusual at the time other than the loud squawking. I feel bad for her. I don't know what do. I don't mind the noise, I just feel very bad and concerned that she is being stressed for some reason that I don't understand. Thanks for your thoughts on this.