- Feb 19, 2013
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I have five girls, all different breeds. They are all good layers and I get 4-5 eggs a day. My Speckled Sussex, named Susie, is at the bottom of the pecking order and is often shooed away by the others at feeding time. She is kind of a loner and often hangs out on her own.
This past weekend we forgot to collect eggs for several days...every time one of us went to collect there was someone in the nesting box and it ended up being days before we actually got the eggs. On Sunday I checked three separate times and Susie was always in the box. The third time, I finally just reached under her and pulled out 2 dozen! She growled the whole time but got up and left before I had gotten every one.
Monday morning I noticed her out in the pen with the others, but they were all chasing her around, sort of cornering her, and occasionally pecking at her. I ran in to try to get them to leave her alone, gave them some more food, and they seemed to be happy and distracted. I saw her out in the pen again in the afternoon.
This morning, she is back in the nest. She was there at 8:30 and she is still there 2 1/2 hours later. It's unusual for her to be laying this early in the day, she is often the last to lay in the late afternoon. They all take turns with one box (though they have two, they don't use them).
So now I'm wondering, is she going broody? Did all those eggs in there for so many days turn her broody? Or is she just hiding from the others because they are picking on her? Do hens typically pick on a broody? And what can I do to stop them from being so mean to her? TIA!
This past weekend we forgot to collect eggs for several days...every time one of us went to collect there was someone in the nesting box and it ended up being days before we actually got the eggs. On Sunday I checked three separate times and Susie was always in the box. The third time, I finally just reached under her and pulled out 2 dozen! She growled the whole time but got up and left before I had gotten every one.
Monday morning I noticed her out in the pen with the others, but they were all chasing her around, sort of cornering her, and occasionally pecking at her. I ran in to try to get them to leave her alone, gave them some more food, and they seemed to be happy and distracted. I saw her out in the pen again in the afternoon.
This morning, she is back in the nest. She was there at 8:30 and she is still there 2 1/2 hours later. It's unusual for her to be laying this early in the day, she is often the last to lay in the late afternoon. They all take turns with one box (though they have two, they don't use them).
So now I'm wondering, is she going broody? Did all those eggs in there for so many days turn her broody? Or is she just hiding from the others because they are picking on her? Do hens typically pick on a broody? And what can I do to stop them from being so mean to her? TIA!
