I noticed for the last couple of weeks she seems to like playing with feathers in the corner next to her flowerpot (despite all the perfectly good nesting areas I provided, this is where 2 of my hens have always laid.
) Just picking them up and tossing them around. No feather pulling that I've noticed. She has been laying some soft shelled eggs. They have a great diet, and I have oyster shells available all the time. My dh started throwing them a handful of cracked corn mixed with oyster shells every day after the first one. Didn't work. I figured it was the heat. It's been up to 98* already! We had highs in the upper 90's every day for about a week. It's cooled off the slightly the last few days, highs in the upper 80's (It FEELS a LOT cooler, if you can believe it!
I'm a Northern transplant to the South if you can't tell.
) She hasn't laid an egg in several days. She's been sleeping in her flowerpot. She spent most of the day outside yesterday, but only spent half the day outside today. In the afternoon she went onto her flowerpot and hasn't budged since. I went in to check on her about an hour ago, and she made this horrible noise at me twice. It wasn't a hiss, it was more like a screech, and it reminded me of a hawk! I was worried about her, thought maybe she was eggbound or something from the soft shelled eggs. I went over to pick her up, and she puffed up really big. Didn't make a sound or try to peck me, though. I picker up off the nest, felt her behind. It's perfectly clean and fluffy, couldn't feel an egg in her at all. She seems perfectly healthy other than the odd behavior. After I set her down, she started gathering feathers into a little pile next to her flowerpot again! WTH? What's up with her? She also has spent the last 2 or 3 nights sleeping in her flowerpot. Is this how a super sweet hen acts when she's broody? She's a sex link, I didn't think they went broody! She is 2 years old, so I guess if this is her first time, it is pretty much never.
