- Mar 24, 2014
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(not sure if this belongs here or in illnesses)
Gretchen is a Rhode Island Red hen. Last year she laid her eggs with no problems, then took a break for fall/winter. All my other hens have begun laying for the spring/summer again except her. She likes to follow the other hens to the nesting box and pluck at the nesting materials. She's often looking for a nest throughout the day, but will never settle. If I accidentally leave the door open she likes to come in and try to nest in my dryer or on my counter. Sometimes when she's there she will sit for a while, sing an egg song, and go outside. The rest of the day she behaves as if she really did lay an egg and is calmer, but there's no egg where she was nesting. I've even caught her pushing like she's trying to pass an egg. If she doesn't lay her pretend egg then she acts like she needs to lay until all the other hens have finished for the day. Currently she likes to go find a tall spot in the yard and sing her egg song for everyone to hear. If you give her a fake egg she will coo at it and tuck it under her, then instantly leave. Twice I've found what appears to be the remnants of an egg in the nesting box after she's left. No shell, just part of the yolk. Once my chicken expert friend felt a soft egg inside her, but when she came back a week later she was empty inside. No bound eggs or anything. I never did find where the soft egg went or if she laid it.
For a while I suspected she was turning into a rooster since she's my top hen. My friend was noticing how she's got little nubs for spurs, but we don't know if they're new or not. Comparing her old pics to now, she's also a bit glossier around her neck, and lately her neck feathers have a backwards swoop to them. It's possible she developed the swoop feathers after she molted last year and I just didn't notice, or when she got a bath for mites a while ago. It's been a month since we discovered the spurs and feathers and nothing has changed since. We've also had a respiratory infection but it hasn't affected egg laying in any of my other chickens.
My other hens are getting tired of having an audience while they nest. How come she hasn't started laying again? Can I convince her to lay? Why is she obsessed with bothering the other hens while they lay? And why does she pretend to lay an egg? She's always been a little weirdo who marches to the beat of her own drum, but this is bizarre. I'm getting tired of trying to convince her that she can't nest on my counters or in my dryer. It's a constant fight with her. Any ideas?
Gretchen is a Rhode Island Red hen. Last year she laid her eggs with no problems, then took a break for fall/winter. All my other hens have begun laying for the spring/summer again except her. She likes to follow the other hens to the nesting box and pluck at the nesting materials. She's often looking for a nest throughout the day, but will never settle. If I accidentally leave the door open she likes to come in and try to nest in my dryer or on my counter. Sometimes when she's there she will sit for a while, sing an egg song, and go outside. The rest of the day she behaves as if she really did lay an egg and is calmer, but there's no egg where she was nesting. I've even caught her pushing like she's trying to pass an egg. If she doesn't lay her pretend egg then she acts like she needs to lay until all the other hens have finished for the day. Currently she likes to go find a tall spot in the yard and sing her egg song for everyone to hear. If you give her a fake egg she will coo at it and tuck it under her, then instantly leave. Twice I've found what appears to be the remnants of an egg in the nesting box after she's left. No shell, just part of the yolk. Once my chicken expert friend felt a soft egg inside her, but when she came back a week later she was empty inside. No bound eggs or anything. I never did find where the soft egg went or if she laid it.
For a while I suspected she was turning into a rooster since she's my top hen. My friend was noticing how she's got little nubs for spurs, but we don't know if they're new or not. Comparing her old pics to now, she's also a bit glossier around her neck, and lately her neck feathers have a backwards swoop to them. It's possible she developed the swoop feathers after she molted last year and I just didn't notice, or when she got a bath for mites a while ago. It's been a month since we discovered the spurs and feathers and nothing has changed since. We've also had a respiratory infection but it hasn't affected egg laying in any of my other chickens.
My other hens are getting tired of having an audience while they nest. How come she hasn't started laying again? Can I convince her to lay? Why is she obsessed with bothering the other hens while they lay? And why does she pretend to lay an egg? She's always been a little weirdo who marches to the beat of her own drum, but this is bizarre. I'm getting tired of trying to convince her that she can't nest on my counters or in my dryer. It's a constant fight with her. Any ideas?
