my buff orphington is making broody sounds but has not started to sit on her eggs yet. is something wrong?

[lases77]

That is what I refer to as "Talking Broody." Some hens will start doing that anywhere between a few days to a few months before going broody. Some hens will do that and never go broody at all, just "talk" about going broody. It's a normal behavior and once you know the time frame of your hen talking broody, you might be able to know when to get a collection of their eggs to hatch.

There is a time when talking broody is a bad thing and has nothing to do with broodiness. This is when the hen is either being broody, or has an issue with the rooster. The hen will start talking broody to protect themselves against whoever they're afraid of. In your hen's case, it sounds like she's planning on going broody, but I'm sharing this information just in case there is a bullying issue either by other hens or a rooster, or you see it start happening in about hen that isn't going broody.

My orpington hen will be 1yr old this April and is laying. She started this "talking broody" for 2 days now. Since this has started, my rooster keeps chasing her and she keeps running from him, getting up out of reach until he goes away, then jumps down and forages while clucking until he chases her down again.
Is this a broody thing, or sound more like the rooster is picking on her for some reason unbeknownst to me? If the latter, in what situation, or for what reason does a rooster start picking on one of his hens?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

My orpington hen will be 1yr old this April and is laying. She started this "talking broody" for 2 days now. Since this has started, my rooster keeps chasing her and she keeps running from him, getting up out of reach until he goes away, then jumps down and forages while clucking until he chases her down again.
Is this a broody thing, or sound more like the rooster is picking on her for some reason unbeknownst to me? If the latter, in what situation, or for what reason does a rooster start picking on one of his hens?

To me it sounds like the rooster is the problem. I would keep the rooster separated for a few days to see if she stops and things improve. I haven't been able to figure out why a rooster picks on one hen more than the others yet. Are they related? Are they the same breed? How is she in the pecking order? Does she have any injuries, specifically rooster related injuries?

 

[lases77]

To me it sounds like the rooster is the problem. I would keep the rooster separated for a few days to see if she stops and things improve. I haven't been able to figure out why a rooster picks on one hen more than the others yet. Are they related? Are they the same breed? How is she in the pecking order? Does she have any injuries, specifically rooster related injuries?

He is a cuckoo meran roo and the same age as the hen. They were raised together and up until now, I believe she was one of his top girls (at least in his top 5). They always got along before.

She has a little area of missing feathers on the back of her head from mating, but nothing concerning (hardly no down feathers showing, and no exposed skin), just an indention where you can tell he always grabs on with his break. I've been keeping an eye on it and it hasn't gotten worse (feathers on back are fine).

Her keel bone does feel a little more boney than the other girls, her face is more pale (not white), but her wattles and comb are red. Her poops are normal. No sign of mites that i can tell. Vent looks normal.

Only thing different is that she's fluffed up and always clucking when she's walking around doing her thing, and of course running from the roo.

Idk if he's just trying to over mate with her, or that he's annoyed at her clucking? The other hens peck at her when she walks near them, like they're annoyed by her, but when she goes the other way, they're fine and go back to their business.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

He is a cuckoo meran roo and the same age as the hen. They were raised together and up until now, I believe she was one of his top girls (at least in his top 5). They always got along before.

She has a little area of missing feathers on the back of her head from mating, but nothing concerning (hardly no down feathers showing, and no exposed skin), just an indention where you can tell he always grabs on with his break. I've been keeping an eye on it and it hasn't gotten worse (feathers on back are fine).

Her keel bone does feel a little more boney than the other girls, her face is more pale (not white), but her wattles and comb are red. Her poops are normal. No sign of mites that i can tell. Vent looks normal.

Only thing different is that she's fluffed up and always clucking when she's walking around doing her thing, and of course running from the roo.

Idk if he's just trying to over mate with her, or that he's annoyed at her clucking? The other hens peck at her when she walks near them, like they're annoyed by her, but when she goes the other way, they're fine and go back to their business.

I'd separate him for a few days. Her sounding thinner than normal is a little concerning, but not too much. Is she free ranged? If so, how is she with returning to the coop at night? Have you seen her in the nesting box since she's been doing this?

If she doesn't change after the rooster is separated for a few days, then it could be her actually going broody. She being an Orpington makes that very likely, though they too, can have issues with the rooster. (I have had hens who went broody in attempt to get away from the rooster.)

 

[lases77]

To me it sounds like the rooster is the problem. I would keep the rooster separated for a few days to see if she stops and things improve. I haven't been able to figure out why a rooster picks on one hen more than the others yet. Are they related? Are they the same breed? How is she in the pecking order? Does she have any injuries, specifically rooster related injuries?

Ok, so I sat out there and watched and observed what might exactly be going on. It looks to me that the orpington hen walking around clucking and being chased by my rooster (Franny), is fighting with my blk autralorp (Sassy) who is top of the pecking order.
After they start going at it, Fergus runs over and steps in immediately, then proceeds to go after Franny (pecking her if he can get to her and if not, chases her) like he's scolding or correcting her for attacking Sassy.

So, questions I have are; is it common for roos to step in when hens are fighting over pecking order, (assuming that's what's going on)?

Why is my roo chasing after Franny the buff when she's not fighting? Is it just to try and keep her in her place? Why is she clucking and walking around fluffed? I noticed the clucking seems too increase when Fergus is closer to her. She does seem uptight, anxious, always looking to see where he's at. Is the clucking an outward expression of frustration, insecurity, or some kind of state of mind?

Would love to brainstorm and see if your insight could help me figure this out so I can better handle the situation, or give them space to iron it out and just keep an eye on them, depending on what's going on.

I'll try to remember to bring my phone out with me to get a video of the interactions next time.