Hen Acting Out of Sorts

[For-The-Love-Of-Chickens]

Our hens are 20 weeks and 1 day old and we are excitedly awaiting the blessed event!!! Anyway, for the past couple of days one of our RIR ladies has been very anti-social. She wants to stay in the coop. She comes out into the run and eats and drinks, but she doesn't want to go out to free range with everyone else like normal. She would rather hang out in the nesting boxes. She seems very agitated and does a lot of cackling to herself. I caught her tonight moving feathers around a depression she made in the dirt (and then she ate some). Are these signs she is getting ready to lay?!?!?!?

She looks healthy, eats and drinks normally, ate some oyster shell tonight, she just seems moody. She saw the group of girls head out to the weed patch this evening, and she turned and went in the other direction, which is very unusual for her.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[Jameberlin]

It sure sounds like she's getting ready to lay. I have one EE that went off by herself pretty frequently for about a week, i thought there was something wrong for a while... till i found she'd hidden a nice little clutch of eggs under one of my thorny bushes (naughty thing!).

 

[chookchick]

Sounds like she's getting close. Put a plastic egg or stone in the nest box so she'll know where to go. I like the stone so they don't get in the habit of pecking eggs. When she starts squatting, you will know she is going to lay soon!