Strange acting hen

[Eagles85]

I have a chicken who will only take a few steps them lay onnground in a pile leaves or hay. I threw a bucnh of hay/straw in the yard and all the other chickens did the normal chicken thing and scratched. This one went to thr middle and layed down all puffed out. I tried to pick her up and she ran to anothr spot and hid under the steps and layed down again. Her breast appears to be bald. She also would not eat any of yhe normal chicken treats i feed them daily. Is she broody or something else


Thank you

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

I thought "broody" when I read the above, but I could be wrong. How is she acting otherwise? What does she do when you approach her and pick her up?

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. I too would guess broody. My broody hen would eat once a day. So that may be why she's not eating. I'd keep a close eye on her though.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

Broody hens also pull out their feathers to make a nest. Sounds like that is what she is doing. Can you secure an area for her with a nice nest box? You want to keep other hens and roosters away from her. If the area is large enough you could put a feed dish & water near her , so she can eat from the nest. If you see she isn't eating there, you may have to put her out a few times a day, so she can eat,drink, poo and stretch her legs for a bit, and then back to the nest.