A very weird thing

[Grand-hen-ma]

Today I was cleaning the chicken coop and one of my girls, Woopie, attacked me! She shot out off one of the nesting boxes and beat the crap out of me. She scratched my face and arms and brought blood! She's never done this before and it really made me mad. Yes she was in the nesting box and had been there for a while. But there were no eggs for her to sit on. After I cleansed my scratches I went back out to the coop. Once again she was in the nest box. This time I went over to her and quickly grabbed her around the neck so she couldn't bite me, but she still tried. She put up such a loud commotion that Rooster rushed over and hopped onto the roost bar and began crowing loudly. She even had all the other hens upset. I checked her over, just to be sure she didn't have any injuries. She was fine.

A while later I went back to the coop and saw an egg on the ground. I placed it in one of the nesting boxes and Woopie runs for the nest and quickly sat on it. This is such strange behavior for her. And something even weirder is the fact she has spikes growing on the side of her legs, like rooster has. I have had woopie for a year and she lays white eggs so I know she's a girl. Is this behavior weird or what?

Any one got any ideas what's going on?

 

[Desert Rooster]

Looks like you've got a broody

 

[Grand-hen-ma]

So they get mean when they go broody?

 

[3goodeggs]

some do some don't. you have what seems to me, an extreme broody.
It will last approximately three weeks. I have one going for a record. I am afraid she'll starve to death. she refuses to leave the nest box. We take her of the box and lock her outside to get food and water. I have a cage to break broodies in, but I just try to wait it out. The cage is wire bottomed. apparently cooling them off breaks the spell.
You may want to break her as soon as possible.
That seems dangerous to you both.

 

[Desert Rooster]

Quote:
Some breeds do more than others, i have two broodies right now, one will scream and fluff up even if i look at her sitting on the nest, and the other is more calm.

 

[Grand-hen-ma]

Ok so you are saying to break her, I should just put her in a crate for 3 weeks? I have a smaller section I use for sick birds. Should I put her in there by herself? Do I leave the nesting box in with her or remove it?

I appreciate the help.

 

[3goodeggs]

What I have been told is that they need their brood spot to cool off. I have a wire cage that is longer than wide. I set it up on blocks so that air can get beneath her. There is no nesting material in the cage, just food and water. I have had unpleasant broody hens before, but they have never been so violent as you described.
I feel badly for the caged hens, so I do not use it on mine unless I start to worry that they will waste away.
There have been several different threads on breaking a broody. You may want to try doing a search. the blue bar above your post has a a good search to use.
good luck!
I am unsure where Hudson is, but there is a lady in Dunellen that brings wire cages to all of the local chicken swaps, you may want to look her up if you are on the northwest central coast. check out the sunny side up thread, you will find her there, cmom.

 

[Grand-hen-ma]

Thanks for the help. My hubby went and bought a cage and she's in it now. Talk about a very unhappy hen! Do you think she'll lay eggs in her cage? If she does, then I sure hope I'll be able to get it from her.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[aggie9296]

If she lays, she's supposed to be coming out of her broodiness.

I have one that is setting on imaginary eggs and I'm tryign to break her without locking her up. Going on for about a week now.

She only pecked me a few times, but boy does she fluff up and growl.

 

[hennyannie]

When I was growing up it seemed like all of our hens were like this when they were broody, I got beat up alot when they were sitting on eggs.