Why does my chicken look up at the sky a lot?

[SwampPrincessChick]

Hello!
We have a 2-month-old Delaware. When she is not pecking on the ground for bugs, drinking, or talking to her flock-mates, she looks up around at the sky a lot. I'm not sure why she does this. It only happens when we let her and the flock out to free range. She doesn't look up as much when she's inside the pen.

Is she looking at the sky for aerial predators like hawks? None of her flock-mates watch out for hawks, if that's what she's doing.
Is she seeing tiny bugs in the air that we don't see?
Is she wanting to get to higher-up plants that she might see, or even want to get in trees? I notice she likes to get on high branches.

Any idea what she's doing?

@SwampQueenChick

 

[Tookie]

It sounds like wry neck. Could you get a picture?
For treating wry neck give her vitamin E 400IU daily and eggs for selenium.

 

[The WinterWolf]

Hello!
We have a 2-month-old Delaware. When she is not pecking on the ground for bugs, drinking, or talking to her flock-mates, she looks up around at the sky a lot. I'm not sure why she does this. It only happens when we let her and the flock out to free range. She doesn't look up as much when she's inside the pen.

Is she looking at the sky for aerial predators like hawks? None of her flock-mates watch out for hawks, if that's what she's doing.
Is she seeing tiny bugs in the air that we don't see?
Is she wanting to get to higher-up plants that she might see, or even want to get in trees? I notice she likes to get on high branches.

Any idea what she's doing?

@SwampQueenChick

hmm. Delawares are so weird. Following

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

It sounds like wry neck. Could you get a picture?
For treating wry neck give her vitamin E 400IU daily and eggs for selenium.

She's healthy and her neck looks fine. Nothing seems to be hurting her. She acts just like the others, except for the weird looking up at the sky thing. She can bend her neck appropriately like the others, and always has her neck in a normal position unless to check the sky again.

What exactly is wry neck, though? Is it like wry tail?

 

[aart]

To see if it's falling!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Given that she specifically does it when she's out free range, she could just be more predator paranoid than the others.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I agree she sounds like she is predator paranoid. Not a bad thing really. Maybe she is top bird so is the designated watcher.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Given that she specifically does it when she's out free range, she could just be more predator paranoid than the others.

I agree she sounds like she is predator paranoid. Not a bad thing really. Maybe she is top bird so is the designated watcher.

That was one of my guesses, but I wasn't so sure on it. Thanks!

 

[SwampQueenChick]

I hope she's tryin to eat all those skeeters flying around

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I hope she's tryin to eat all those skeeters flying around

And I hope she gets them successfully!