Dinosaur Chicken! Weird Laying Behavior - Anyone else seen this?

HoopyFrood

Songster
7 Years
Mar 21, 2016
495
603
221
Maine, USA
My Coop
My Coop
Both of our production reds (going on 11 months old, regular layers) really seem to get into a trance like state when they lay. They can spend upwards of two hours in the nest box sometimes! However if you collect their eggs they quickly come out of it and go back to being "regular" chickens.

But one of them is especially bizarre. She puffs up like a blowfish and sticks her bum in the air while resting on her keel. She will stay in that for as long as she's in the nest box, which can be a long time. But the weirdest part is the noises she makes! Like a little dinosaur... we call it "velociraptor mode." She doesn't like to be disturbed and if anyone makes too much noise, opens the nest box, tries to lay on top of her, etc, she makes this creaky primal screech that is actually kinda creepy. But it's also kinda hilarious, too.

Anyone else have experiences like this?
 
Both of our production reds (going on 11 months old, regular layers) really seem to get into a trance like state when they lay. They can spend upwards of two hours in the nest box sometimes! However if you collect their eggs they quickly come out of it and go back to being "regular" chickens.

But one of them is especially bizarre. She puffs up like a blowfish and sticks her bum in the air while resting on her keel. She will stay in that for as long as she's in the nest box, which can be a long time. But the weirdest part is the noises she makes! Like a little dinosaur... we call it "velociraptor mode." She doesn't like to be disturbed and if anyone makes too much noise, opens the nest box, tries to lay on top of her, etc, she makes this creaky primal screech that is actually kinda creepy. But it's also kinda hilarious, too.

Anyone else have experiences like this?

Yeah, most of my chickens do it :lau One of my chickens acts like a velociraptor all the time, which makes it even more interesting :D
 
I have a girl that only does that for other hens. She's never been broody. I have a girl that does it only to me. Never been broody either.

The first time it happened I was in the coop doing some cleaning. She puffed up and screamed! My BF came running as he heard it from outside. Asked what on earth was going on. I said I had no idea but if she spit pea soup I was outta there!
They really are tiny dinosaurs!
 
My buff opp, Brownie, spends hours in the nesting box. She's a favorite of one of the roosters that I strongly suspect can't finish the mating act. (He's pretty angry about his lack of satisfaction and it comes out in the mating.)

Brownie will open her mouth and will SCREECH, repeatedly, if anyone disturbs her resting.

I had thought she was going broody, but have dismissed that idea. She DOES spend hours in the nesting box, usually sleeping, or in a trancelike state. I suspect she does it to avoid the angry rooster. She also spends HOURS outside, socializing, and avoiding the angry roo.

** Angry roo gets on top of the chicken, pins it down (he doesn't care about the gender of the chicken or the size of the chicken), wiggles and shakes and bounces up and down, then stands still, and then gets off. He's a RIR.
 

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