My pullet thinks she is a peacock

[Coop de Grille]

My 24 week old pullet has been walking around all day today all puffed up. She is holding her wings out, her tail up and all her feathers seem to be standing on end. She is not happy IN the run or outside of the run. She kept coming to the gate wanting out, so I let them out to free range and then she kept trying to get back IN the run, which is strange for her. What is up with this???

 

[En Plein Air Farms]

bless her heart. What is the temperature there?

 

[Coop de Grille]

It was about 83 today. I don't think she was overheated.

 

[speckledhen]

Sounds broody to me. Looks broody. She's hormonal. Buff Orps go broody, you know. Is she clucking deep in her throat?


Here is a link to a short video of my Nugget from the last time she was broody. She's about to hatch babies again, too.
http://s673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/Mtnviewpoultry/Video Clips/?action=view&current=DSCN3492.mp4

 

[MarissaC]

What a beautiful hen...angry, but beautiful! No idea what she's doing though, haha.

 

[Coop de Grille]

Sounds broody to me. Looks broody. She's hormonal. Buff Orps go broody, you know. Is she clucking deep in her throat?


Here is a link to a short video of my Nugget from the last time she was broody. She's about to hatch babies again, too.
http://s673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/Mtnviewpoultry/Video Clips/?action=view&current=DSCN3492.mp4

She is clucking like that but she keeps her head low to the ground. I will try to get a video of her tomorrow if she is still doing it. Her tail feathers are straight up, her wings are out and she is all puffed up like she gets after picking her up and putting her down. I sure hope she isn't broody. I have 18 one month olds in the baby pen, no room for her to hatch out any babies right now.

 

[chickenreferee]

Broody!

 

[silkiechicken]

Looks like a classic broody there. Just make her and keep her uncomfortable and she should snap out of it if you do not want her hatching eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, yeah, then she's broody. I call her position the "Weebles Airplane" position. Wings drop down, head down, all flared out like a beachball, like she's going to take off down the runway.

My first ever Buff Orp went broody about one month after she began laying eggs, but I had no rooster then. Couldn't break her no matter what we did and she almost died-stayed broody for the entire three weeks, had to take emergency measures to save her. She did brood chicks the following year, when we did have a rooster. Never went broody again and she is now 6 1/2 years old, the last remaining hen of my original flock.

 

[Coop de Grille]

Uggh! I haven't had a rooster for a month now (although I am still getting fertilized eggs!) and I hope I can break her out of this. Should I keep her out of the nestbox? I just checked and she is sitting on her egg, a plastic easter egg and a golf ball. She growled at me, I'm not sticking my hand under that hissing mess of feathers!