Two hens seems to be in love

[AtlantaViking]

I have about 53 hens and 6 roosters(soon to be chicken and rice stew)Two of my hens have been acting strangely for about two months. One is. buff Orp the other an easter egger. They sleep together in one of my laying boxes. seem to stay in the box most of the day. Almost every time I go to the coop, they are in the coop together in the laying box. Packed in nice and tight and almost refuse to get out, even with strong pushing from me. Any ideas. I also have seen a dramatic reduction in egg laying from the 24 hens one enough to lay. I was getting 18-20 eggs per day until early May. SINCE THEN ONLY ABOUT 12-14 PER DAY. ALL APPEAR HEALTHY

 

[CluckerFamily]

Do they loudly holler at you when you take them out of the nesting box? They could be going broody.

 

[AtlantaViking]

how do I break them so they get out? Why together?

 

[Painted Calls]

how do I break them so they get out? Why together?

Might just be their favorite box and neither want to share.

@aart has a great explanation for breaking a broody. Hopefully she'll be by soon to help you out.

 

[ShrekDawg]

They’re probably just broody. It’s important you break them soon especially if they’ve been broody that long. It’s not good for their health. To break them you would need to put them in a wire bottomed cage for a few days or week. The air flow underneath prevents them from being able to keep their imaginary eggs warm.

As for them being in the same box, it’s not that their in love or anything like that. Chickens just naturally like to lay where the other chickens lay as it’s seen as a safe place so that probably applies to nest sites too. They see it as a safe place. I have multiple nest boxes for mine and they all lay in the same one or two and yes sometimes have been in there together.

They could also be lower on the pecking order and be hiding from the others in there. Although if the egg production has dropped then I bet it’s probably broody instead and they are probably chasing the other hens away from the boxes. Broodies can be very ferocious hahah

The other option is your birds may be hiding eggs somewhere if they are free ranging and you may have to go look for them.

This is all normal behavior from them though and they’re not in love! Although they MAY be good friends. My birds tend to break off into various friend groups when they’re foraging for the day. They are one flock but have their best friends just like we do.

Breaking them might prove a bit challenging given they have been broody so long but it might not be.

You could also try putting them on the roost bars at night in lieu of the cage but that may take longer and may not work.

Good luck!

 

[aart]

@aart has a great explanation for breaking a broody. Hopefully she'll be by soon to help you out.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire(1x2) on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

After 48 hours I let her out of crate very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate for another 48 hours.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor,
gives the feet a break from the wire floor and encourages roosting.

 

[AtlantaViking]

They’re probably just broody. It’s important you break them soon especially if they’ve been broody that long. It’s not good for their health. To break them you would need to put them in a wire bottomed cage for a few days or week. The air flow underneath prevents them from being able to keep their imaginary eggs warm.

As for them being in the same box, it’s not that their in love or anything like that. Chickens just naturally like to lay where the other chickens lay as it’s seen as a safe place so that probably applies to nest sites too. They see it as a safe place. I have multiple nest boxes for mine and they all lay in the same one or two and yes sometimes have been in there together.

They could also be lower on the pecking order and be hiding from the others in there. Although if the egg production has dropped then I bet it’s probably broody instead and they are probably chasing the other hens away from the boxes. Broodies can be very ferocious hahah

The other option is your birds may be hiding eggs somewhere if they are free ranging and you may have to go look for them.

This is all normal behavior from them though and they’re not in love! Although they MAY be good friends. My birds tend to break off into various friend groups when they’re foraging for the day. They are one flock but have their best friends just like we do.

Breaking them might prove a bit challenging given they have been broody so long but it might not be.

You could also try putting them on the roost bars at night in lieu of the cage but that may take longer and may not work.

Good luck!

One night, I closed the laying boxes to prevent access. The next morning, they were together on the floor of the coop sleeping

 

[ShrekDawg]

One night, I closed the laying boxes to prevent access. The next morning, they were together on the floor of the coop sleeping

They probably took the next best spot to brood or it actually might be possible they’re not allowed on the roosts, either. Were they roosting before this? They may be getting bullied off the roosts.

 

[AtlantaViking]

Thanks everyone. My two broody hens seem to have finally given up and are normal again