strange chicken

[alovechickens]

hi! i have a barn with lots of chickens and animals. one of my chickens has been acting really really very strange lately. she has been standing still crouched close to the ground, puffed up feathers, keeping her head really close to her chest, and i dont know whats up. Any ideas? im really worried about her because she is one of my families loved chickens.
thank you and hope to here from you really soon!

alovechickens

 

[Top Rooster]

She's not sick ,she is broody if you dont know the term it means she is wanting to hatch chicks shes healthy and will sit on her nest all day and get up for 20 min or so to eat,drink and poo shell puff up and make different sounds that's just the sounds that she'll talk to her chicks with and she's puffing up because she is protective of her eggs you can get her some fertilized eggs that she can hatch if you want

 

[alovechickens]

wow thank you! i had no idea she wanted chicks! thank you so much i was getting worries a little bit! also, would that be the reason why last winter one of my large hens never got up out of the nesting box? because when ever i opened the box to check on her she would spike up her feathers and make a mad type of sound
thanks again

 

[Top Rooster]

Yes that's why she just wanted to be a mother do you have a rooster? If not you should get some fertilized eggs from a neighbor or nearby farm I bet you would enjoy seeing her with chicks

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Welcome to BYC! It does sound like she maybe broody, does she sit in the nesting boxes practically all day? I would read these articles to help you to determine:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks.65989/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/broody-hens.48666/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/encouraging-or-discouraging-broodiness-in-your-hens.64397/

 

[alovechickens]

how can i tell if a chick is a male or female?

 

[Top Rooster]

Well you can't very well when they first hatch best results around 4 weeks but you can see which ones grows fastest the bigger ones over the next week tend to be Roos and the smaller ones pullets but that isn't 100% accurate when their about 4 weeks old you will be able to tell some characteristics in the chicks such as rooster chicks will be bigger with bigger feet and may be developing a comb while pullets won't until much older

 

[Top Rooster]

Does the hen sit in a nest all day

 

[drumstick diva]

If she isn't broody and I don't think she is, she may be showing signs of illness. I don't think broody hens pull their head/neck in.

 

[Top Rooster]

My BA when I know is broody puts her head on her chest or it appears that way because she is really puffy so I dont know if her head is on her chest or her puffiness just make it look that way, then I come in the coop the she screams and broody clucks after that but she doesn't seem ill