Strange doins in the chickenyard, at 12:30 a.m.

[blurose]

For some inexplicable reason, I found four of my hens running around the chicken yard at 12:30 a.m. last night. I managed to catch two of them and throw them up into the chicken house, but 2 of them remained out all night. There were no signs or smells of predators anywhere near last night. I can smell the coons, oppossums and skunks when they are around because my bedroom window is always open and is actually a part of the chicken yard, window screens in place of course. I also have one Barnevelder hen, the one who is three years old (OK, all of them are 3 years old) and layed her first egg this spring, sleeping outside on top of the henhouse each night. She perches on the edge of a corner nearest my house. She does this every night without fail. I think she might have some hormonal problem what with her strange egg laying habits and the fact that she pulls out all of the feathers on her breast, and her skin underneath is red. I'm pretty sure I only get about 1-2 eggs a month from her. She even tried to go broody in May, but that didn't really last long.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Some broodies pull feathers out of their chest, it is normal.

Your hen just sounds like a super-broody, a hen that is almost always broody. I have a hen that is like that, she would almost always rather be setting than laying.

That would explain why she sits in that particular spot without fail.

That's my guess anyway.. LOL

-Kim

 

[blurose]

Well, I don't know about what you are saying, that she is always broody. She can't be. She now never sits at all. She is always seen walking around the yard, and when she is roosting on the top corner of the henhouse, she always has her bum hanging out in midair over a 10-ft drop to the ground.