Crazy hen..

[Littlestwp]

Hello..we have chickens for about 10 years and I have never seen anything like this crazy chicken..
We have a nice coop, But all our chicken run free during the day hours, at night they return to the coop.
All but 3 that just love to sleep in the rafters of the barn.
Anyway..ONE chicken will come out of the coop and run to ONE spot iin the barn where she sits on the ground next to the haybales all day. she almost looks like she sits on eggs..and NO , no eggs.
She would remain all night..so I put her in to the coop at sundown..next day same story. This goes on now for almost 3 weeks. Any ideas why she is doing this?
Thanks

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Sounds like shes feeling broody.....its hormone driven and has nothing to do with whether her "nest" of choice has any eggs in it.
Do you want to add to your flock?if so you could obtain fertile eggs for her or get some chicks and try having her adopt them

 

[Shadrach]

Hello..we have chickens for about 10 years and I have never seen anything like this crazy chicken..
We have a nice coop, But all our chicken run free during the day hours, at night they return to the coop.
All but 3 that just love to sleep in the rafters of the barn.
Anyway..ONE chicken will come out of the coop and run to ONE spot iin the barn where she sits on the ground next to the haybales all day. she almost looks like she sits on eggs..and NO , no eggs.
She would remain all night..so I put her in to the coop at sundown..next day same story. This goes on now for almost 3 weeks. Any ideas why she is doing this?
Thanks

Hello Littlestwp.
Welcome to BYC.
That sounds like broody behavior to me.

 

[Littlestwp]

Sounds like shes feeling broody.....its hormone driven and has nothing to do with whether her "nest" of choice has any eggs in it.
Do you want to add to your flock?if so you could obtain fertile eggs for her or get some chicks and try having her adopt them

Thank you very much..Unfortunatly we have predetors coming to the barn at night and it is not safe for her. I do have an empty cage raised from the ground. I will put some fresh layed eggs in there and sit her on them tonight..lets see what happens..

 

[Littlestwp]

Hello Littlestwp.
Welcome to BYC.
That sounds like broody behavior to me.

Thank you for the welcome!!

 

[Littlestwp]

Soo..I just put 7 eggs in her cage and brought her in..she started eating and drinking and than picked up hay and threw in on her back..for about 3 min.. this hen is something else..

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Soo..I just put 7 eggs in her cage and brought her in..she started eating and drinking and than picked up hay and threw in on her back..for about 3 min.. this hen is something else..

That's actually very normal nesting behavior