riversbendhen
Chirping
Hello,
I am a new chicken owner. We have 5 beautiful hens all different varieties. The girls are 5 months old now and have started laying eggs. I allow them out of the coop to free range in the afternoons after they are done laying (three eggs a day). At around 4 pm. I clean the coop and round them up to return for the evening. Yesterday I observed the strangest behavior from Lacey. At 4pm she was in one of the laying boxes. I left her to finish her business and headed back to the house. From the kitchen window I saw she had left the coop and followed me to the house and was on our front porch. I picked her up and returned her to the nest box. Next thing I notice she is at the front door again. I walked outside and tried to coax her back to the rest of the flock but she wanted no part of it. She kept returning to the front door. Finally I left her and figured I would go clean the coop. When I was finished I called the girls back in but there was no Lacey. I searched and searched but she was nowhere to be found. I went to get my husband to help me search and as I walked through the garage I heard some rustling and found her sitting under the workbench (no egg). It is now 5pm. I picked her up and carried her back to the coop and set her in a nesting box. She jumped right out of it however. I have also noticed that her comb has been droopy the past few days. I came to the site here to see if I could learn what is going on with her. Do you think she could have a bound egg? Or is it a case of (affectionately) bird brain behavior? Not sure what to think or do? Any ideas?
I am a new chicken owner. We have 5 beautiful hens all different varieties. The girls are 5 months old now and have started laying eggs. I allow them out of the coop to free range in the afternoons after they are done laying (three eggs a day). At around 4 pm. I clean the coop and round them up to return for the evening. Yesterday I observed the strangest behavior from Lacey. At 4pm she was in one of the laying boxes. I left her to finish her business and headed back to the house. From the kitchen window I saw she had left the coop and followed me to the house and was on our front porch. I picked her up and returned her to the nest box. Next thing I notice she is at the front door again. I walked outside and tried to coax her back to the rest of the flock but she wanted no part of it. She kept returning to the front door. Finally I left her and figured I would go clean the coop. When I was finished I called the girls back in but there was no Lacey. I searched and searched but she was nowhere to be found. I went to get my husband to help me search and as I walked through the garage I heard some rustling and found her sitting under the workbench (no egg). It is now 5pm. I picked her up and carried her back to the coop and set her in a nesting box. She jumped right out of it however. I have also noticed that her comb has been droopy the past few days. I came to the site here to see if I could learn what is going on with her. Do you think she could have a bound egg? Or is it a case of (affectionately) bird brain behavior? Not sure what to think or do? Any ideas?
