Is this nesting behaviour - why does she do this? pictures included

[BeckyEggy]

Hi, I have a serama hen who has recently started laying in the past week or so. The first two eggs she has laid in the nest box. Since then she's also become more needy? She's always liked to come in for a cuddle, but now she'll stand at the door pecking it or flying into it. I've tried to ignore her to discourage the behaviour. Today she separated herself from the flock - it is a small flock - and stayed by the door trying to get my attention. I brought her in as she seemed unsettled and wanted to check her over. Normally her and her hatch partner would sit on a towel on my lap happily and preen themselves. He got on with his preening but she was still unsettled. Walking around, making noise, scratching at the towel. She was trying to put her head under my elbow. I propped the towel up to make a little shelter, and she loved it. She was almost burying herself in the towel. She was bothering her hatch mate with this behaviour as she knocked him off a couple of times. She was also trying to get under him, and would put her head between his legs and walk forward so he was on top of her. So I propped up a cushion for her to 'hide' in and she spent about 20 mins going in and out of it, circling around in it.

She did something like this a few days ago so I put her outside as I thought she needed to lay an egg and was trying to find a nest. She didn't lay an egg. Today I put her outside again as I thought she was trying to get settled to lay, but she hasn't laid.

Is she just a quirky chicken that likes to be in smaller spaces? Most of my chickens hate feel confined and be in small spaces and would freak out if a towel was on top of them. Is she trying to find a different nest, inside?

 

[chrissynemetz]

It really sounds to me like she's looking for her idea of a good safe spot to lay an egg.

 

[FortCluck]

What type of nesting box do you have? What do you use as eating material (pine shavings, straw, hay)?

Sounds like she is looking for a different place to lay her eggs.

 

[Mandrogora]

It sounds like she sees you and/or the house as a safe spot to lay her eggs. Are any of the other chickens laying right now? All of my one year old girls have stopped laying from molting except for one and she goes nuts because there aren't any other eggs in the nesting boxes. I have to put a duck egg in there so she feels safe to lay. As soon as I do that she settles right down and goes about her business.