To roost or not to roost?

[Coventrychick]

Hello!
I have 6 hens all 24 weeks old. The last two night when I’ve gone out to lock my girls in their coop one of the hens is just chilling on the coop floor, pecking at the pine shavings and trying to cover herself with them. She has roosted before with the others.
should I be worried about her or is this normal?

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Hello!
I have 6 hens all 24 weeks old. The last two night when I’ve gone out to lock my girls in their coop one of the hens is just chilling on the coop floor, pecking at the pine shavings and trying to cover herself with them. She has roosted before with the others.
should I be worried about her or is this normal?

Well she could be being picked on or pecked on while on the roost or she could be taking a dust bath so to speak in the shavings. Is she low hen in the pecking order by chance? Or is she possibly being bothered by mites while on the roost? That’s when they attack during the night. You need to check her vent and legs for bleeding and clumping of the mites at night with a flashlight on all birds while roosting. This is possibly a first sign that your birds may have mites. If this is the case then you can go forward next with how you want to proceed with treating them.

 

[Coventrychick]

Thanks for the reply. From what I can see she has never been picked on before and I don’t believe she is the low hen in the pecking order. I will however check he legs and vent for signs of mites.

 

[NatJ]

I have 6 hens all 24 weeks old. The last two night when I’ve gone out to lock my girls in their coop one of the hens is just chilling on the coop floor, pecking at the pine shavings and trying to cover herself with them. She has roosted before with the others.
should I be worried about her or is this normal?

Does she behave normally during the daytime?
Or does she keep sitting on the floor or a nest then too?

 

[CluckerFamily]

Is she the bottom of the pecking order? Is there enough room on the roost?

 

[Coventrychick]

She acts normal during the day. Eats, drinks, free ranges with the other hens, takes dust baths.

 

[Coventrychick]

I don’t believe she is at the bottom of the pecking order. There should be enough room on the roost. She was roosting on one of the bars last week.

 

[NatJ]

She acts normal during the day. Eats, drinks, free ranges with the other hens, takes dust baths.

Then she's not broody.

 

[Coventrychick]

Then she's not broody.

She’s only 24 weeks. I didn’t think hens could get broody that young.

 

[NatJ]

She’s only 24 weeks. I didn’t think hens could get broody that young.

The usually don't, but I did once have a bantam pullet (Old English Game Bantam) go broody at 21 weeks--she started laying at 19 weeks, laid one egg each day for 13 days, and went broody.

So I thought it was worth checking, just in case