Sweet chicken turned on us, help!

[WannabeHippie]

We have a sweet little banty who came to us an adult. She was stand-offish at first, not wanting to have much to do with us and then warmed up when we got a new batch of chickens in the coop, even laying us a couple eggs. A week or two ago she disappeared, was missing for about three days and returned a totally different bird. She puffs up her feathers, holds her tail so upright it almost curls towards her head and yells at you if you try to touch her (she used to let me carry her around the garden). She's yelling at the other chickens and just cranky as can be. Any ideas what may have happened to our sweet girl?

We're still pretty new to this whole chicken thing.

TIA,
Elaine

 

[easttxchick]

Could she be broody? Or possibly ill or molting? Or was she abducted by aliens when she was gone and they have mind control over her?

I'm just kidding-don't mean to make light of your situation. Is she hanging out in a nest box or anything? Broodiness makes them quite cranky(so does molt).

 

[WannabeHippie]

She wants nothing to do with the laying boxes, so I'm not thinking she's broody. They all went through a molt recently so I now know what that looks like and that's not it.

Your alien theory seems more plausible at this point, especially considering her disappearance! It's almost like someone did something to her and now she's afraid, though she'll still come close and stand by my feet, just won't let me pick her up and yells if I try to touch her at all.

I can find all sorts of info on sick hens, but nothing on ticked off ones. Sigh.

e

 

[PeeperKeeper]

She's broody! Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!!!!!
It's hilarious, I think, that the most demur sweetest and mild mannered little hen can become CHICKZILLA! all because of hormones....ugh!
She probably has a nest already somewhere with eggs and is coming out for her once aday feeding and watering. Then she probably disappears again...maybe?

 

[WannabeHippie]

She's the only one of our flock who flies, so you could be right. She doesn't spend her whole day in the coop. Hmmm... wonder if I could sneakily follow her & find the nest. LOL!

Naw, sounds like we need to just make it so she can't get out and hopefully that'll fix the issue. Too bad we have new chicks in the side-car coop, otherwise we could stick her there... assuming we could catch her, that is!

 

[Dixiedoodle]

Either she is broody or she has turned 13!!!!! Those teenage years are horrible... LOL

 

[speckledhen]

Sometimes, broody hens work up to being full-on broody. I have two of them right now who will not stay on eggs, but they scream and puff up at everyone. One hen I have acted like that for a month before she started to sit.

 

[maizie]

A RIR hen went broody on our screened in porch a couple of years ago in a small dog bed. She was pretty nasty there for three weeks (she didn't even have any eggs at the time!)