Chicken whining a lot

[HennyPenny44]

I have five 16 week old chickens, none of whom are laying yet. My barred rock is the only one with deep pink around the eyes, on the wattles and comb. She also has been "whining" a lot every time I come near her. It gets progressively louder sometimes as if she's really distressed. However, she is very attached to me and always trying to get my attention so maybe that's why. Is this typical behavior for a chicken who will soon lay eggs? Or should I be worried? She did appear to be at the top of the pecking order before and was rather bossy. But now I notice some of the other chickens steal her food from her and she doesn't try to get it back while she whines in that distressed way. One even tugged on her chest feathers til she screamed to steal a grape from her. Poor girl! Is my chicken OK?

 

[sourland]

It's all about the hormones - puberty is here

 

[HennyPenny44]

Welcome! I'm in NJ too. Don't have as many bi

It's all about the hormones - puberty is here

I suspected this but wasn't sure. There's a couple of other whiny ones as well but my barred rock takes the cake!

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I would love to know too! I just got 8 grown chickens and one of them, a barred rock also, is the smallest and whines all the time. Maybe this type of chicken whines more than the others? She also hides under the forsythia most of the day. I feel so bad for her like there is something I need to do, but I don’t know what. She is the most submissive. She roosts the earliest and squishes herself tight into the corner. I’m actually kind of afraid to pick up the chickens, but will try if it seems that is needed. While I can’t answer you question at all, at least you know you aren’t the only one searching for an answer to this!

 

[HennyPenny44]

I would love to know too! I just got 8 grown chickens and one of them, a barred rock also, is the smallest and whines all the time. Maybe this type of chicken whines more than the others? She also hides under the forsythia most of the day. I feel so bad for her like there is something I need to do, but I don’t know what. She is the most submissive. She roosts the earliest and squishes herself tight into the corner. I’m actually kind of afraid to pick up the chickens, but will try if it seems that is needed. While I can’t answer you question at all, at least you know you aren’t the only one searching for an answer to this!

I can't speak to your situation because my barred rock isn't submissive but I would try to figure out what might be wrong by examining her. Is she at least interacting with the other chickens? As for the whining, I've just decided she's a very vocal chicken. I've seen videos with barred rocks and they seem to make this distinctive noise. The one in this video sounds just like mine and is just as funny...always trying to get as close to me as possible and "talking" to me. Skip to 2:40