I've got a Blue Copper Marans that's just over a year old. The last few days she's been acting...different! She's still laying, but is quite vocal and her clucks are a little different, someone described it almost as popcorn popping and that sounds like it! She was in her nesting box yesterday for 4+ hours laying on 2 eggs. I kicked her out, but she wasn't happy about it. She fluffed up, screeched at me, and it took awhile for me to get her out. I had to kick her out a few more times, and close her out of the coop. Last night she slept on her roost. Her eating and drinking seems to have diminished a little, and she just lays in the run, doesn't move unless I come close (same thing, fluffed up and screeching). If I prompt her to go outside with treats, she will, and acts like a normal chicken. She did hop in the nesting box this morning and pancaked out, but was only in there for 15 - 20 min. I'm new to chickens, and have never had one go broody. I THINK she is going broody, but her just laying around in the run seems weird? Everything else seems normal, her comb, eyes, etc looks the same. Is she just going broody?
When she is sitting in the run, is it possible that another hen is in her favourite nest box that time? Broodies often get kicked out of 'their' nest by other hens wanting to lay and they can sulk about it, either sitting on the ground or pacing up and down until the other hen leaves. In any case it definitely sounds like you have a broody on your hands. My hens usually take two or three days of sitting in the nest box for a few hours or coming and going all day before they start sitting full time.
No, the other hen is outside as well with her. Thank you for your response, good to know yours take a few days before they actually sit full time.
Or.....a ticking time bomb! Is she on nest most the day and all night? When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake? Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest? If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it. Do you want her to hatch chicks?
