Grumpy chicken?

[Chicken poppy]

Hi! I normally would not really consider this a problem, but this in particular has concerned me.

Rizo, my hen (1 year old) has been going broody A LOT lately, which i keep breaking. Anyway, yesterday, i noticed she was very grumpy, like broody behavior but not even being on her nesting area.
like for example, on the rod, or exploring about. She would do different things each time, but usually make a growling like noise, puff up, and act like a broody! To any chicken, and anyone. She has done it today to, and im a little confused. Rizo is always a very mellow chicken, and will only fight if you do one first. So whats with her behavior lately? I notice that she will make a growling noise when i touch a area like her back. Even puffing up her neck feathers, acting a bit more aggressive to.

Any thoughts? Is this a concern? Thanks!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

She's doing what I call, "Talking Broody." What that is, is she's talking, or acting, like a broody, but isn't. She might be truly thinking about going broody, or being fake about it, but there could be other things to take into play:

Does she like the rooster, hate him, or is scared of him?
Is she being bullied by another hen, the flock, or the rooster?
Is there chicks or the sound of chicks (some wild birds sounds like chicks) around?
Is she molting or have a noticable amount of feathers missing (eggsample, the back feathers)?
Is there often a lot of eggs in the nesting box?

Talking Broody is often the sign of a hen's dislike of the rooster, or getting bullied by another hen or the flock. Often it's a bird's nest aggression to her, which can be because of a change. Changes can be like her or a new bird getting added to the flock as new, or after being separated for longer than three days.

Talking Broody can also be her looking to go broody, or faking broody. If she's thinking about going broody, then be prepared. She might also put on weight. If faking broody, then it could be the problem I just talked about above. But it also can just be her desire but for whatever reason won't sit.

I've had a hen Talk Broody for a couple of months, but never did go broody. (She's a breed that could go broody.) She didn't go extreme, just did the broody cluck. That could of been a nesting area issue because she had a special nest and other hens discovered it making her very upset. (She got so upset that she went on Strike. ) Then earlier this year I had a hen doing the full Talking Broody. (She's a breed that shouldn't go broody.) It was due to her not liking the rooster and a jealous hen being put back in the flock after her molt.

The Talking Broody but not going broody often has something to do with the rooster.

 

[Chicken poppy]

She's doing what I call, "Talking Broody." What that is, is she's talking, or acting, like a broody, but isn't. She might be truly thinking about going broody, or being fake about it, but there could be other things to take into play:

Does she like the rooster, hate him, or is scared of him?
Is she being bullied by another hen, the flock, or the rooster?
Is there chicks or the sound of chicks (some wild birds sounds like chicks) around?
Is she molting or have a noticable amount of feathers missing (eggsample, the back feathers)?
Is there often a lot of eggs in the nesting box?

Talking Broody is often the sign of a hen's dislike of the rooster, or getting bullied by another hen or the flock. Often it's a bird's nest aggression to her, which can be because of a change. Changes can be like her or a new bird getting added to the flock as new, or after being separated for longer than three days.

Talking Broody can also be her looking to go broody, or faking broody. If she's thinking about going broody, then be prepared. She might also put on weight. If faking broody, then it could be the problem I just talked about above. But it also can just be her desire but for whatever reason won't sit.

I've had a hen Talk Broody for a couple of months, but never did go broody. (She's a breed that could go broody.) She didn't go extreme, just did the broody cluck. That could of been a nesting area issue because she had a special nest and other hens discovered it making her very upset. (She got so upset that she went on Strike. ) Then earlier this year I had a hen doing the full Talking Broody. (She's a breed that shouldn't go broody.) It was due to her not liking the rooster and a jealous hen being put back in the flock after her molt.

The Talking Broody but not going broody often has something to do with the rooster.

Thank you so much for your reply! It makes me feel a lot better. I was worried she might have been hurt and she was screaming at me because of it or something.

She doesn’t really seem to hate or be scared of the rooster, just neutral really.
Emily pecks on her, but seems to be normal. She has never pecked her hard or done damage.
Yes, a lot of wild birds sound very chick like here.
Yes she is, that was my first thought. However, she is very intense as a broody mom, and she is missing a lot of feathers from that. Its really just from her breast area and a bit under her body and some under wings, but pretty sure its not that, because there was a lot of feathers missing from being broody.
I gather the eggs out daily, but she does go broody a lot and steal Izzy’s eggs when they go twin broody.

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it.