Spooky hen acting weirder than normal

18 years ago

I have no idea what type of hen she is, nor did the store who sold her to me 5 months ago. She has always BEEN the defination of High Strung. Spooky, flighty, aggressive to the dominate chicken, forcing her way into whatever nest box she wanted to sleep in...

I moved the tractor today, next to the garden to help control some rampant weed growth. Next thing I know, she is pacing and displaying even stranger behavior. I have a home made Chicken tractor with nest boxes attatched on the outside. A long, squat box, with a hatch opening at one end, and a swing down door to confine all chickens within reach of the hatch. The door (really a board on a swivel stick) is secured by a a hook and eye latch, with a string to fetch it up when down, confining chix.

At first, I thought she was after the string. But after watching awhile, she paced back and forth, and just where the board latched to the structure, she would hop up, ramming her head into the chicken wire! She actually bit the cage a couple of times. Most times, she never hit the top but kept jumping over and over in the same place. Finally, seeing how dirty her chest had gotten from repetitive behavior in the same place, I dropped a trash can lid on top of the tractor, blocking her view of the waving onions 18 inches taller than their cage. I'm not exactly sure if this stopped the repetative behavior, but it did refocus her attention to an hour or longer dust bath...

What on EARTH was she trying to do, and how do I redirect her if she starts again tomorrow???

She had also been uncharacteristicly scratching around in a box. She is not laying YET, and I was wondering if the 'urge' might be confusing her, or causing her anxiety?

{{gwi:36817}}
This is a basic pix showing the drop down door, but none of the hardware, or a closer pix of where she was going bonkers. You can see the drop down door sags on one side and is up tight on the other. The up side is where the hook latch is, and where she kept jumping, over and over and over...

Here is a pix of Nutso when much, much younger. A friend out here recently for a visit mentioned how one of her hens looked more like a crow than a chicken, and we laughed at the similarities of their behavior, the spookiness, the racing around, the inability to be quiet and easy going. She DOES look like a crow on steroids, though. Lean, long and sleek, rather than round, squatty and waddling like the rest of my chickens, banty cochins and a silkie!

{{gwi:36818}}

ANY thoughts appreciated!

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Comments (6)

velvet_sparrow
18 years ago
Poor baby! It sounds as if she is coming into lay and is trying to follow her natural instinct to run around searching for the perfect nesting spot. She may also be having some issues with being in the tractor with it's low overhead. My hens all do the nest search, they will roam around the yard caterwauling and at times almost frantically searching for the 'perfect spot'. They always end up laying in the same nest, but the search and all that noise most likely serve to draw out any predators that might be lurking nearby, because once they are REALLY laying the egg, they become quiet and secretive. If she continues to scratch in the nest boxes, try adding more nesting material, it could be that she just needs it a little deeper.

It could also be that she is not only coming into lay but having some broody leanings as well, and just doesn't know what to do with herself. I'd try to provide her some entertainment and distractions in the way of food.

Good luck!

Velvet ~:>
Cena
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you for the semi confirmation of my thoughts, VS. Once I put the lid on that spot, and she could no longer see 'out' there, she calmed down significantly. I didn't see any of the pacing behavior today, and she seemed her normal self.

I will try more nesting material. I have only had one other hen change over from pullet to layer, and she was pretty straight forward.

I got this hen because of odd sparkly blue patches under her ear. I will NEVER get this breed again. She is just SO high strung. She escapes every chance, not that big of a deal, but once she gets out, she is the Very Devil to catch. If it weren't for her trying to dive through a lattice fence, I likely would have never caught her, and even though she sees me Every Day there to feed and treat her, she howled 'MURDER! MURDER! MURDER' in a voice I've never heard a chicken use before. It was the most blood chilling thing.

I just wanted to treat all their feet for mites at one time. I knew she was likely to escape, so didn't worry about her, while dealing with the rest. She even managed to avoid the kitten, and never quite made it up into the tree to roost. Her panic was so bad, I had to put her vasoline on while she was still entwined within the net. Her nerves give ME nerves! I sure wish I knew what she was, so I could avoid ever bringing another home!
I suspect you could be right about the height of the tractor also, as she seems nearly 'standard' size to me, where all my other girls are banties.

Thanks for your input.
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velvet_sparrow
18 years ago
You can try checking out the chicken pics on feathersite.com....I can't really pinpoint her by the photo you posted...does she have feathered feet?

If she was crested, I'd say she looks like a Sultan. I just got a Sultan hen last month, and she was a bit skittish at first but now is a sweetie. :) Some bantams are naturally high-strung and are ALWAYS that way--my twin buff cochin bantam hens are STILL skittish of us, and we've had them for almost 9 years!

Velvet ~:>
shellybabe
18 years ago
you had mentioned blocking her view of the green onions?, is it warm enough for snakes where you are? we already have killed a couple here in Arkansas, even though it is supposed to be freezing again. My mom in law's chickens would go bananas if they spotted what they thought was a snake, doing much the same as you described. Even my ducks would tip toe frantically, and quack and attack the fence when they saw a snake. Just my 2 cents worth.
Cena
Original Author
18 years ago
Shelly, in the 25 years I've been here, I've never seen a snake in town. Doesn't mean they aren't there, just that I don't pay attention. I DO have lizards, which could be nearly as threatening.

I've been working during the day time, so have no idea what she has been doing lately in the day time. Still fairly certain it was just the onions overlooking her. How silly is that?!?
shellybabe
18 years ago
not that silly, my inlaw's chickens would never go near tall grass for the reason of the threat of snakes hiding in there I guess.
around here there are bunches of snakes. we get around 3-4 six foot long chicken snakes per year and usually 4-5 copperheads during the hotter months.

Spooky hen acting weirder than normal

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Spooky hen acting weirder than normal

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