angry chicken

[roysiebeck]

i have a hen who has quit laying ,set on the roost all day in the afternoon i put her out with the rest of the hens but she is angry all the time , she walks around with her feathers up its like she has become anti social , does she need a psychologist , haha, if someone has any ideas please let me know

 

[BooBear]

hmmm either she is going broody or she may not be feeling well. That is my guess

 

[Jferlisi]

I would say there is something wrong with her. Make sure you give her a really good looking over. When chickens have something wrong with them they puff up and become anti-social, the puffing is to make themselves look bigger than they really are so they dont get picked on.

 

[roysiebeck]

what do you mean by broody , she has been doing this for about 2wks now , she drinks and eats , and she s not losing weight , by broody do tou mean she needs a rooster

 

[NanaLantana]

Broody means she's "in the family way", so to speak. Actually she would need a rooster to fertilize any eggs she would sit on to hatch - but hens go broody without roosters, too. If she's not sick, she could be broody. But a broody will usually park her fluffy butt on a nest with eggs - then growl at you if you come near. To hatch chicks it takes 21 days - if she's broody, you could get her some fertile eggs from someone with a rooster, and separate her in her own nest area.. If she stays there, in 21 days you'll have new chickens - and she will take care of them. Hope this helps!

I just put 4 new feed-store chicks under my broody - they spent the day bonding, and all are doing fine. I expect the 'new mama' will get up soon to take the chicks out and show them some food - - -

 

[Jferlisi]

The reason i say something is wrong is that she is sitting on the roost and not on the ground or in a nest box. When they go broody they want to hatch babies, so they will go to where they nest.
*ETA: you can try and put a few golf balls in a nest box and see if she goes and sits on them, also try putting her on them and see if she stays there. If she does then she is broodie and nothing is wrong.