Odd New Behavior

[Ann10]

My 4 chickens just started laying about a month ago. My black sex link has been laying almost daily and is 27 weeks old. She started an odd behavior 3 days ago and I am at a loss as to what is going on. When she is ready to go in and lay an egg, she gets very agitated off and on for about 30 minutes. She will try to fly repeatedly out of the run but the fence is too high for her to get over. Eventually, she goes in, lays the egg and returns to her normal sweet behavior. Any ideas what is causing this behavior?

 

[azygous]

Most hens become agitated to a degree prior to laying. Some are more dramatic about it than others, while a few will quietly go into a nest, promptly lay their eggs, and quietly exit.

I've had an occasional hen decide she needs to be somewhere else than where she is currently in order to lay her egg. I've seen them try to fly over fences to get wherever they think they need to be in order to lay an egg. Don't assume that hens are always thinking logically, or that what they think their needs are is always justified.

That your hen ultimately settles down and finds a conventional spot in which to lay indicates she's only slightly wacky, but sticks mostly to the program. Be thankful.

 

[aart]

Ditto azygous.
She may be impatient for her favorite nest being in use.

Maybe something has changed with the nesting area that she is unhappy with?