Spurlock Farms
Hatching
On our farm we have 6 chickens, 2 of them are Bantam roosters, 2 are Rhode Island Red hens and the other 2 are Buckeye hens. They are right around that 4 month old mark. Our two roosters are showing the normal behaviors of roosters; the over protectiveness, the swelling of their chest and of course the cockle-doodle-doos. They haven't started attempting to mate, which when that time comes we will be separating them due to the male to female ratio.
Anyways, our chicken coop is raised 3 foot off the ground with an attached run underneath and around it and the coop itself has 3 attached nesting boxes. Every morning we open the coop doors to let the chickens out into the run for the day. Our one Rhode Island hen has refused to leave the coop the past few days. She hasn't even been leaving to eat or drink the fresh food/ water. (She still eats/ drinks from the feeder and peck waterer hat we give them each evening, giving them more of a reason to go to roost for the night without us having to catch them).
Not only has the hen not left the coop, but she has become a lot more protective of the coop. Often when it rains, the chickens will go into the coop for some more shelter or to get into better shade when the sun is at an angle that the roof on the run doesn't completely cover it. The chickens have continued to attempt to do this the past few days as normal. The Rhode Island has been very protective of the coop, almost not letting the other chickens in at all.
She has been spending a lot of time over by the nesting boxes we have set up, not necessarily in them, but closer than normal. She has also become a lot more submissive to me. She allows me to pick her up and handle her a lot longer and more frequent than otherwise normal. All of our chickens are fine with being held and touched but not usually for any period of time longer than a minute or so.
Is it possible that she is preparing to start laying? They are preemptively on a layer feed with oyster shell because we know it's around that 4-6 month mark depending on breed that they may begin. We are first time chicken owners and raised the ones we have since the day they were hatched and so have little knowledge about these little behavioral things. If she isn't exhibiting signs of being ready to lay, what else could be up with her and is it anything we should be worried about? Thanks so much for any ideas and or tips!
Anyways, our chicken coop is raised 3 foot off the ground with an attached run underneath and around it and the coop itself has 3 attached nesting boxes. Every morning we open the coop doors to let the chickens out into the run for the day. Our one Rhode Island hen has refused to leave the coop the past few days. She hasn't even been leaving to eat or drink the fresh food/ water. (She still eats/ drinks from the feeder and peck waterer hat we give them each evening, giving them more of a reason to go to roost for the night without us having to catch them).
Not only has the hen not left the coop, but she has become a lot more protective of the coop. Often when it rains, the chickens will go into the coop for some more shelter or to get into better shade when the sun is at an angle that the roof on the run doesn't completely cover it. The chickens have continued to attempt to do this the past few days as normal. The Rhode Island has been very protective of the coop, almost not letting the other chickens in at all.
She has been spending a lot of time over by the nesting boxes we have set up, not necessarily in them, but closer than normal. She has also become a lot more submissive to me. She allows me to pick her up and handle her a lot longer and more frequent than otherwise normal. All of our chickens are fine with being held and touched but not usually for any period of time longer than a minute or so.
Is it possible that she is preparing to start laying? They are preemptively on a layer feed with oyster shell because we know it's around that 4-6 month mark depending on breed that they may begin. We are first time chicken owners and raised the ones we have since the day they were hatched and so have little knowledge about these little behavioral things. If she isn't exhibiting signs of being ready to lay, what else could be up with her and is it anything we should be worried about? Thanks so much for any ideas and or tips!
