Hen acting strange.

[Chicken person]

I'm new at raising chicken. I have 5 22 week old hens. 2 of them are laying one of my hens, the barred rock, has been acting strange lately.she has been making a lot of noise and when I get near her she quasars and her wings come out slightly. Is this normal or is there something that I need to do. The other two have never don this.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

She sounds like she could be broody. They bock bock bock when they walk around, kind of low to the ground, and look like a turkey with their feathers all fluffed out, then squawk loudly, run around the pen, then get back onto the nest to brood some more. They take a break once or twice in the day to eat and poo, drink their fill, and walk around. But they don't want anyone near them.

Is she setting?

 

[Chicken person]

She isn't acting lsqwating all the time it's just when I walk near her and her feathers aren't puffed. So I don't think that but thanks for the input.

 

[silverandgold]

I'm new to chickens too. I just have four golden Comets.

I let them out to freerange whenever I can but only with supervision b/c we have fox in the neighborhood. We have to catch them and put them back in the run when we go inside. Also my daughter catches them and carries them whenever she can get away with it.

I say all that because they're getting used to getting picked up. And I've noticed at least one behaving similar to what you describe - when I walk up to her she sorta crouches and her wings come out just a little. I think she's "ready" to be picked up.

Sandy

 

[Chicken person]

I let mine free range also when I'm outside and only when I'm outside because in the last 2 weeks I have seen 8 coyotes around my yard. So I pick them up and bring them into there coop and run when I leave. So it could have been that she was ready to get picked up or that she was about to lay her first egg because when I went to go check on them l found her in the nesting boxes laying her egg.

 

[donrae]

She's squatting. It's a submissive behavior that is also linked to sexual maturity---it's the position a hen assumes for a rooster to mate her. It's often considered a sign that she'll start laying in the next few weeks.