Chloejay
In the Brooder
- May 21, 2020
- 26
- 42
- 39
Hi all,
I was wondering if any one could tell me what my hen is doing or trying to tell me?
I have three healthy two year old light Sussex hens. The alpha has developed some strange behaviours over the past six months and I have no idea what it means. Everyday when I clean the chicken coop she excitedly runs over to me, making the same happy noises a mother hen makes to her chicks. She then lays down (not the submit squat) but lays down flat with her neck stretched out in the exact place I’m cleaning and just stays there until I’m done. What on earth is this about??
Fast forward a few months and she is now a mum (bought her chicks). She stopped doing it for a few weeks but then started again, only now in addition to the laying flat thing she now looks into the nest box and starts making this noise I’ve never heard before (I took a video of her doing it but can’t post it), it’s almost a purr but different to their normal purring sound. She then jumps inside the box and looks for eggs. She will throw straw on herself and if there are eggs she will look at them, squat over them briefly and continue making the noise before deciding to leave. What does this mean?
Here’s a short video I took of her making the noise. Unfortunately it doesn’t show the laying flat or all the noise she makes before going in the box.
Very interested to know if anyone else has chooks that do this and what it means. Thanks in advance!
I was wondering if any one could tell me what my hen is doing or trying to tell me?
I have three healthy two year old light Sussex hens. The alpha has developed some strange behaviours over the past six months and I have no idea what it means. Everyday when I clean the chicken coop she excitedly runs over to me, making the same happy noises a mother hen makes to her chicks. She then lays down (not the submit squat) but lays down flat with her neck stretched out in the exact place I’m cleaning and just stays there until I’m done. What on earth is this about??
Fast forward a few months and she is now a mum (bought her chicks). She stopped doing it for a few weeks but then started again, only now in addition to the laying flat thing she now looks into the nest box and starts making this noise I’ve never heard before (I took a video of her doing it but can’t post it), it’s almost a purr but different to their normal purring sound. She then jumps inside the box and looks for eggs. She will throw straw on herself and if there are eggs she will look at them, squat over them briefly and continue making the noise before deciding to leave. What does this mean?
Here’s a short video I took of her making the noise. Unfortunately it doesn’t show the laying flat or all the noise she makes before going in the box.
Very interested to know if anyone else has chooks that do this and what it means. Thanks in advance!
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