I have three yellow chickens and three all black chickens and am raising them in the city. The biggest of my yellow chickens started acting crazy - would hide in the nest box and then jump out and run around the coop and squawking all the way, running into every one else then run back into the nesting box facing backwards. From what I could understand on the net (till I found you guys) I separated her out of the flock and put her in a smaller coop where she could see the rest of the flock and they could see her. Supposedly I am to wait a few days and re-introduce her. They are all 11 weeks old - waddles just starting to turn red. Am I doing the right thing?? BTY - I believe three are buff orpingtons and three are black orpingtons - I think
Sounds like she is/was scared of something. You, the other chicks, a predator? Maybe she low in the pecking order. Check out the coop thoroughly. Were you wearing something different than usual? now that it's hot here. Good luck Imp in Renton
Are you sure she isn't just, well, being a chicken? In a within-the-range-of-normal way? They may well just need to work out the pecking order. Unless someone is actually getting bloodied, I would not go isolating anyone, that just makes it *harder* for them. They need to sort things out THEIR way, even if it is not the polite quiet friendly way you'd PREFER to see them go about it Good luck, have fun, Pat
Thanks for the help - I think she is scared of something - might be me - I will work on that......Hi imp in Renton - we are close!
Unless someone is acting sick, I'd definitely get her back in with the others. Chickens act weird-- wait til they start laying!!!! They do run around and squawk, and I have a few that jump in and out of the nests, still hollering, facing all different ways. All it takes is the wind blowing in a different direction and they go nuts!
Just sounds like a chicken teenager being a chicken teenager. Nothing strange or unusual about her behavior. Just chicken personality.
It sounds like she's almost ready to start laying. When my first layer did that we named her "crazy chicken" until we discovered her nest in the yard. Now it's just something they do on a daily basis except Delilah who is my broody hen. Now she wont leave the nest no matter how hot it gets in there, she's always puffed out like a turkey, and makes turkey sounds clucking about the yard. When she runs through the yard she makes sure to scream loudly running faster than I've ever seen before then picks on both cockerels.
