Hen is going crazy!

Necklace

Songster
Dec 4, 2014
149
29
146
One of my hens has been acting really, really weird the past two days. she is usually with the flock and never by herself but the past two days she disappears during the day and at night we have to go hunt her down she is usually hiding in the bushes somewhere around the yard and when we do find her she starts running all around the yard like she has lost it.. Feathers are all bushed out on her neck, wings and tail.. she looks like she is either very angry or really scared.. the past two days we have to make sure all the other chickens are put away and we just leave a small door open on the side of a little coop we have that a few of our older birds like to stay in.. and she runs over feathers going everywhere and jumps right in..

I am just trying to get some ideas of what would cause her to go crazy like this.. she is about 2 years old.
 
yes she does... but why is she hiding and running around like a crazy bird instead of sitting.. :/
 
It sounds like she's broody to me. Does she make a loud CLUCK CLUCK noise? Typical broody hen look below
She is still doing the same thing.. 3 nights in a row.. she is fine in the morning then goes crazy in the evening.. could she be brood and just not know what to do?
 
Can you post a video of her actions?

She may be what I call "playing broody". I have one that puffs up and clucks with each step she takes (hilarious), she growls and screams when she's laying an egg and makes a ruckus when other flock members (or me) get near her. She eats/drinks and is fairly active, but will take spells sitting in the run puffed up and growling. I suppose I don't help much, I do intentionally talk to her just to get an extra growl/scream. She even does this while roosting!
gig.gif
Mine did this all last summer and began again this spring and hasn't let up. It's almost like she can't quite get to full blown broody.

Watch to make sure she is eating/drinking well. Keep us posted.
 
Can you post a video of her actions?

She may be what I call "playing broody".  I have one that puffs up and clucks with each step she takes (hilarious), she growls and screams when she's laying an egg and makes a ruckus when other flock members (or me) get near her.  She eats/drinks and is fairly active, but will take spells sitting in the run puffed up and growling. I suppose I don't help much, I do intentionally talk to her just to get an extra growl/scream.  She even does this while roosting! :gig Mine did this all last summer and began again this spring and hasn't let up.  It's almost like she can't quite get to full blown broody.

Watch to make sure she is eating/drinking well.  Keep us posted.


I have been trying to watch her during the day and she seems ok coming out of the coop... I could deal with the attitude change if that is all it is. It is just driving me nuts hunting her down every night for bed.. :/
I will try and catch a video of her this evening when I put them down for the night.
 
The hen in my picture had no idea she was broody either. Her first time going broody I didn't even know.. I had just replaced my rooster and I thought she just hated the new lead roo. Her second time going broody I had to pick her up out of the coop and go sit her on her nest in the shed where she layed her eggs. It was my mistake and I had removed eggs without realizing she was going broody. Once I placed some eggs back in her nest and put her there after dark she sat on them until she hatched the chicks in the picture with her.
 

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