Do Hens Comfort Each Other?

[Patinas]

I have a hen that started laying about 3 weeks ago and she is full of drama when it's time to get the egg out. She spends a couple hours walking and squawking in front of the nest boxes before she decides to sit in one of them. Even then, she's squawking the whole time until the egg passes.

The other day I heard her going through her drama routine and about an hour later she was quiet so I went to look in the coop and there she was in a nest box but one of the hens who is not yet laying was nestled in there with her. They were both very quiet and very content looking. The laying hen did get her egg out a while later but I never heard her squawking again which was highly unusual. The other strange thing is, initially all the other hens were out ranging so the drama hen started out all alone in the coop. That means at some point, her buddy wandered back in there to sit with her.

I wish I'd taken a pic of the two of them in the nest box. It was really cute but I began to wonder if the non-laying hen was with her just to keep her company and calm her down.

The question is....are chickens sensitive to the distress of other flock members?

 

[Pork Pie]

They understand distress signals for sure but if or how they respond to it I'm not sure. I have seen protective instincts if a flock member is distressed, i.e. A cock bird mounting a young pullet and the flock chasing the cock bird off - that much I do know.

 

[lazy gardener]

Several years ago I had 2 hens who were BFF. They did everything together: including eat, roost and forage. They also accompanied each other to the nest box, and one would hang out until the other was done laying. Interestingly enough, one was head of pecking order while other was at the very bottom of PO. I think the bottom rung gal befriended top gal for the protection and status it offered.

 

[8MerryHens]

One of my RIRs sat just outside the coop when her buddy was laying her first egg. She softly clucked and purred to her friend the whole time until the pullet layed her egg. Only time she did it, seemed like she wanted to reassure her friend that everything would be okay. So yes, I think they can be sensitive to each other's stress.

 

[Patinas]

One of my RIRs sat just outside the coop when her buddy was laying her first egg. She softly clucked and purred to her friend the whole time until the pullet layed her egg. Only time she did it, seemed like she wanted to reassure her friend that everything would be okay. So yes, I think they can be sensitive to each other's stress.

Interesting! Today the non laying hen was in one of the boxes and my drama queen was back at it this morning with the squawking. Drama hen eventually climbed into a box two down from her buddy and then went quiet while sitting in there. The non laying hen got up after about an hour and left the coop....no egg from her yet. Drama hen stayed quiet even when she did pass the egg, although it was a small one this time.

I haven't seen them in the same box since the other day so maybe it was just a weird one time thing. We'll see!

 

[Abriana]

What a cute story!