strange behavior of hen help!!!

[OkapisRule]

My hen is sitting on the nesting box and we thought that she was broody, and we couldn't check if she had eggs because she kept pecking at you when you tried to check, so we thought it best to leave her be, but later we decided to check and she doesn't have any eggs under her, but she is still staying in the nesting box nonstop.

WHY!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[hencackle]

Some will sit even if there are no eggs in the nest.

 

[ncgnance]

She just needs some time to herself. Its not easy being a chicken.LOL

 

[ibpboo]

Yep, she probably wants to hatch some babies. I had a chicken once that did that. She would always sit on the other chicken eggs. She would let them lay more under her too. I would wear gloves to get the eggs out. And she would sit forever and I was afraid of her dying from sitting too long so I would get fertilized eggs from a friend and let her hatch them. Sometimes I would buy baby chicks and then chase her off the nest and switch the eggs for chicks and when she came back she thought the eggs hatched. She loved being a mama. I had her for years and did this several times. One day she was gone and I don't know if she jumped in the neighbors yard and their dog ate her (I rescued her from their dog a couple times) or if a chicken hawk got her. I miss her. She was a good mama and always raised my baby chicks for me.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sounds like she's gearing up to go broody...Some birds will sit on air if you let them...others will bring you strange looking chicks that look like they hatched from golf balls.

The first time Obelisk my Leghorn went broody she sat on the egg for all of 20 minutes, looked under her, then got up with an expression of "that was boring" and walked off. The next time she went for the whole time, but the eggs weren't fertile.

My banty Silkie/Cochin, Penny, sat from Dec 22 to just about a week ago...I couldn't break her no way no how....

 

[CoopDelisle]

Reminds me of when my two children were little and I would go into the bathroom just to get away from everybody. They would lay on the floor and try to look under the door and cry for mommy to come out. Maybe that is how your hen feels?

 

[OkapisRule]

Thanks!!! Good answers! I love backyard chickens because of how active everybody is. It would take me forever to find things like that searching the internet! Thanks a lot!!!