Do chickens get "hormonal"?

[new chick 203]

One of my girls started laying this week and she has been such a B#*ch! she is really tormenting everyone, chasing and pulling feathers. Another is going to start any time now and she's acting up too. Can a chalk this up to raging hormones? Will she mellow out again?

 

[BrewedInNh]

All 6 of our hens got very cranky during the week leading up to laying their first egg. Once they popped out that first one they calmed right down.

 

[Pinky]

They can be so hormonal, it's scary

If you think your hen is bad, wait until you meet a broody hen

 

[terrilhb]

Mine too

 

[new chick 203]

It's just that Rosie was so mellow about the whole thing. Very meditative. Bobby is a spaz and so cranky. Still sweet to me, but the others better watch out.

 

[PatS]

It is funny, I have noticed how friendly they become after they have been laying a short while. Last spring's hatchlings were raised by mama hens so they weren't held by us when they were little. They ran whenever we got close. I thought they'd never warm up to us! But sure enough, they start laying and now they are almost as friendly as their "aunties."

 

[teach1rusl]

Oh YES!! My light sussex even turned on her non-laying "ex" best buddy the week she started laying...pulling feathers and just being nasty, as you described. They do calm down within a few weeks though

 

[new chick 203]

She's so small, a banty cochin, it's almost funny watching her march around bossing the big girls.

 

[kla37]

My barred rock was like that, and she has sweetened up some. She's the "boss" so she's never going to be as sweet as the others, but she is a pretty good top hen, so I won't complain. I remember from reading about chicken physiology the they definitely are hormonal, esp when they are broody. The broodiness is completely hormonal, and it is all started by a chemical cascade that starts the broody process. That's why it's so hard to break. It's a lot more than just a "behavior" it's a biological and physiological process.

 

[kla37]

And, I know I wasn't the most pleasant woman to be around the few weeks before I had MY first baby.....