Change in behaviour!

[maldoncrazylady]

Help I have a 2 yr old Silver Grey Dorking blue egg layer raised by myself from an egg, ( she thinks shes a dog)! Over the last few weeks shes started laying anywhere and everywhere in the garden, soft shelled eggs at times and if she does get thm in the coop shes started to eat them!! Any ideas as to why this is going on?

 

[aart]

I thought Dorking laid white or cream colored eggs?

Maybe she's getting old and her mechanism is starting to fail?
Or she's molting?
Is she getting plenty of protein?

 

[maldoncrazylady]

Hi this strain lays blue eggs thats why I got them luv the colour!! Yep she has a complete and varied diet, plenty of grit, wormed, powered,you name I do it for my girls lol! I think you may be right tho shes getting older and has always been a strange gender confused bird too as she often straddles other hens like a cockeral and doesnt cluck like a hen more like a strangled chook! As I said before she thinks shes a dog and follows me around the garden as she has the whole of it to herself, the others are penned (too much mess), shes more of a pet than livestock. Oh well it is what it is just worried about my strange little confused hen lol, many thanks x

 

[theoldchick]

At two years old your manly chicken sounds like she might be having reproductive issues out of your control. Some hens develop masses in their egg producing factory that make them produce more testosterone than normal. I call it Henopause. For some chickens this seems to be a seasonal thing. In the Fall the days gets shorter and their body is telling them to store energy for winter resulting in less eggs. This process is controlled by hormones and if a hen is already on the manly side, you will see soft eggs, mounting, garbled crowing, and other rooster like behavior. Once Spring is in the air, the hen will resume egg production.

On the other hand, if the hen is getting ready to molt, you may also see soft shells and roosterly behavior. The aggression is from the pain of many pin feathers poking tender areas. If the hen is experiencing a hard molt she may quit laying all together until the process is complete.

Providing your hen with a varied diet including wild bird seed, cat food, cooked meat, and various dark greens may help her body adjust to these changes.

 

[maldoncrazylady]

have taken this imfo onbored thank u

 

[maldoncrazylady]

now one of my new girls seems to have hiccups thought it was sneezing at first but its more like hiccups come cluck is she ill or will it go ?

 

[theoldchick]

Watch her and make sure she is eating well. My chickens hiccup on occasion and the issue resolves on its own. If not, you need to examine the chicken's head, inside mouth, nostrils,and ears. Occasionally a bit of food/dirt lodges where it's not supposed to and causes strange noises. And it never hurts to deworm your chickens. For a normal sized chicken you can use 1 cc Safeguard goat dewormer. Get a syringe, measure the proper amount, and carefully give it to your chicken by mouth. Don't wear your good clothes when you do this. Safeguard can be purchased at your local feed store.