Hen Behavior

[Riggjo]

Hello all,
We are new to chickens. We have 4 hens, 2 are Australops and 2 Americaunas. They are 8 months all and we raised all of them as chicks. We have a very large coop, attached pen as well as a large fenced area. One of the Australops has been acting up and I am not sure why. She is eating and drinking. Her poop is fine, eggs are good. No sign of any sickness. She has been flying out of the fenced area just leaving the others. She seems to do this more when I’m not around and since I’ve been away for a few days, she’s flown out everyday and gives my husband a very hard time going back to the fenced area. She doesn’t seem to care she is alone. We do change things around, hang food, etc so they are not bored. When she is put back, she lets you know she is not happy. We do the shaking meal worms and she would come back for those but she got smart and won’t come back for them now. She will come to me, she’ll squat and let me pick her up. The other birds are very content in the fenced area but if she flies out, they follow. It concerns me because we are surrounded by woods and I don’t want her roam. We do have a totally enclosed large pen we are planning to put up but I know she’ll squawk like crazy. Any suggestions?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Two words.

Clipped wings.

Wanderlust is hard to stop. It doesn't sound like she is getting overly picked on, so I doubt it is that she is miserable (but watch for that just in case).

Since the others follow, she sounds like the mischievous leader.

It's very easy to clip their wings.

1. Get sharp scissors.

2. Locate the primary feathers. Those are the long feathers at the bottom edge of the wing.

3. Trim them about half way, staying away from the smaller secondary feathers.
I'll find a photo for you.

You can trim one wing or both. It will change this behavior completely.

LofMc

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you don't want to clip, then you'll need to either cover your the extended fenced area or make the top of the fencing as unappealing to get up on as possible (i.e. add a floppy extension on top of it to make it difficult for her to land on it).

 

[aart]

How high is the fence?

 

[Riggjo]

Two words.

Clipped wings.

Wanderlust is hard to stop. It doesn't sound like she is getting overly picked on, so I doubt it is that she is miserable (but watch for that just in case).

Since the others follow, she sounds like the mischievous leader.

It's very easy to clip their wings.

1. Get sharp scissors.

2. Locate the primary feathers. Those are the long feathers at the bottom edge of the wing.

3. Trim them about half way, staying away from the smaller secondary feathers.
I'll find a photo for you.

You can trim one wing or both. It will change this behavior completely.

LofMc

Two words.

Clipped wings.

Wanderlust is hard to stop. It doesn't sound like she is getting overly picked on, so I doubt it is that she is miserable (but watch for that just in case).

Since the others follow, she sounds like the mischievous leader.

It's very easy to clip their wings.

1. Get sharp scissors.

2. Locate the primary feathers. Those are the long feathers at the bottom edge of the wing.

3. Trim them about half way, staying away from the smaller secondary feathers.
I'll find a photo for you.

You can trim one wing or both. It will change this behavior completely.

LofMc

So sorry for the late reply. Still trying to figure out maneuvering the website. I really appreciate your help. I found out where she was flying out of and put some white bug netting over the area and now the birds really seem to love it. Sort of a canopy for them. She did complain quite a bit in the beginning, but seems to have adjusted. We did also install a much bigger pen which seems to have helped. Thanks so much

 

[3KillerBs]

I suspect that she wants to go broody and is looking for a good place.