angry Margo

[Sandra Verbreyt]

HELP.
My two chickens Margo and Ruby have been good friends for a long time. However just recently Margo who is a Silkie has started to be really mean to Ruby. She pecks at her and pushes her away from food etc. Ruby is becoming a bit scared of Margo. I must add that at the moment Margo is broody and I have to keep taking her out of the coop and closing it up otherwise she sits there all day. Is this normal behaviour for a broody lady as she has not been like this before. What can I do? Will she stop it and go back to being friendly Margo? I only have the two and they have a free run of our garden. PLEASE any advice would be gratefully received .

 

[Banditschickens]

Need to put her in a Cage without anything but food water.
No nesting material to brake her broodiness unless your
wanting her to make babies for you. You will need fertile
eggs and nest without the other chicken bothering her for that.

 

[aart]

Is this normal behaviour for a broody lady as she has not been like this before.

Has she been broody before?
Brood birds can be pretty goofy and aggressive and crabby.

If you want to break her broodiness I would suggest using a wire crate.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.
Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.