Interesting Behaviors - flock newly set outside, walks the fence line, while another one "pounces" like a border collie

[L7 Farm]

We've just set our small flock outside a couple of days ago, and today they got the first full run of their big enclosed yard outside their coop (had to finish a few touches on the humans door), which is fenced in but fairly substantial (town won't allow free-ranging, but we have a couple of acres and had room for a nice big run).

Interesting behavior number one: after the cavorting and delight at being in such a huge space (for them) (lots of testing out of their wings and excited swipes at tall grass), they then took to pecking and scratching --- along the perimeter of the enclosure. Almost exclusively! It was almost like they were engaged in a religious ritual of some sort -- circling, circling (or "rectangularing", I guess). If I didn't know any better, it looked like they were casing the fenceline for an escape route, except they just kept pecking and scratching in the usual manner. (We have a line of old bricks and pavers at the base of the fence so it's fairly discouraging to the wannabe fence sneaker.)

My wife is the more experienced chicken person (she was raised with much bigger flocks on the family farm) but they always free ranged their birds so she did not have any insights.

Behavior number two: one of the pullets started doing the following, and did it five or six times.

She found a shady, semi-hidden place in the yard (under an old barn vent we set our for shade for them); she watched the other two going around the perimeter for a while, quite intently; and then she DASHED as fast as she possibly could right towards them, took a peck or two, and then docilely followed along behind them. (This is the lowest hen in the pecking order and the one that's most hand-shy of humans).

She looked for all the world like a border collie, right down to the lying flat to make herself look small, and then running off at top speed towards the rest of the flock.

It *looked* like fun, but it would seem to be anthropomorphizing things a bit to think this was a recreational behavior.

Any explanations from the more experienced hands?

- Matt / L7 Farmlet

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Is there a lot of mosquitoes, flys, or other flying insects? It's quite the funny thing to watch a random hen unexpectedly chase down a fly and try to eat it in mid air. I'm wondering if this is the case with your hen. If she's crouching/crawling in her run, pick her up and hold her so she has to stand straight up for a little while. That should help straighten her out if she's getting stuck in that position. She should hopefully outgrow that if that's the problem and if it is a problem.

 

[SirTeletoll]

Does the perimeter have something in the soil that the rest of the area doesn't, like smaller or whiter pebbles? For some reason my chickens always preferred white rocks so maybe there is something in the soil.
Also about the dog-hen: I also have a hen that has always been at the bottom of the pecking order and I always found that those hens are very odd in a likeable way. Mine never flinched when pecked, but instead would run to the water and drink. For some reason she loves the sound her nails make when digging in empty plastick bowls, so you might be right that she is just having fun. Unfortunately we will never know what's going through their heads

 

[L7 Farm]

Is there a lot of mosquitoes, flys, or other flying insects? It's quite the funny thing to watch a random hen unexpectedly chase down a fly and try to eat it in mid air. I'm wondering if this is the case with your hen. If she's crouching/crawling in her run, pick her up and hold her so she has to stand straight up for a little while. That should help straighten her out if she's getting stuck in that position. She should hopefully outgrow that if that's the problem and if it is a problem.

It's perplexing in part because she strides around normally much of the time -- definitely the follower in the flock, but normal follower, except when she's doing her border collie impersonation. I think this is all behavior and not a physiological thing.

We don't have a lot of insects, relatively, although there was a lot of excitement today when the leader of the flock found a worm! The other birds all chased her around a bit (this was early in the day) but she got away and managed to chomp it down.

I am now thinking maybe our trailing hen thought she was being sneaky and trying to "surprise" the rest of the flock and the alpha to try to steal a worm (that wasn't there anymore)?

 

[Coops Dad]

Our chickens free range on our back pasture, 6 acres of pasture grass with a few food plots for the chickens scattered around. Our chickens patrol the fence lines and the perimeter of the tractor shed; I think they find more bugs in the taller grass there and have an easier time trapping them against the wall or fence line. They have also caught a few mice that way, too.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

It's perplexing in part because she strides around normally much of the time -- definitely the follower in the flock, but normal follower, except when she's doing her border collie impersonation. I think this is all behavior and not a physiological thing.

We don't have a lot of insects, relatively, although there was a lot of excitement today when the leader of the flock found a worm! The other birds all chased her around a bit (this was early in the day) but she got away and managed to chomp it down.

I am now thinking maybe our trailing hen thought she was being sneaky and trying to "surprise" the rest of the flock and the alpha to try to steal a worm (that wasn't there anymore)?

Could be. My bantam hens were known to suddenly run up behind an unexpecting Standard and snatch the Standard's hackles and go for a ride. This was a dominance thing with the bantams. They, even though small being bantams, ruled the Standards, even if they had to take a whole Standard flock hostage, which they did.

 

[L7 Farm]

Oh my gosh, I was amused just *reading* about the bantams going for a ride!

 

[L7 Farm]

Our chickens free range on our back pasture, 6 acres of pasture grass with a few food plots for the chickens scattered around. Our chickens patrol the fence lines and the perimeter of the tractor shed; I think they find more bugs in the taller grass there and have an easier time trapping them against the wall or fence line. They have also caught a few mice that way, too.

I am guessing this is it -- the outside of our fenceline is lined with old pavers and bricks, to solidify the fence and hold down an extra layer of wire, and maybe they can trap and/or see bugs better along the stones and bricks.

It is a little funny to just sit and watch them like they're on patrol!