[iwantanallotment]

Daft Q but I'm curious and wondered if anyone could help?

My broody hen is always acting strange, that's no surprise. But what is she doing/thinking when she picks up bits of straw or lumps of dirt and tosses them over her shoulder and onto her back?
Every time I boot her out of the coop she starts doing this  :blink:

A friend's hen used to do it as well (not a broody), & we just thought she was odd....but obviously it's a "hen thing"?

Any ideas please?

[joyfull]

quite a few do it 

[8doubles]

One of my broodies did it , i think it is just gathering nest building material. It makes sense to take back a pile on her back not just one piece in her beak.
I think the instinct is there but the skill has been bred out.

[compostqueen]

My not-laying-at-the-moment Warren hen is doing this at the moment. She was faffing about in the nesting box yesterday and then spent ages arranging pieces of straw on her back, she looked like a haystack at one point, til it all slid off and she started up again. All that but no sign of an egg

Bless 

[iwantanallotment]

Thanks 

I did wonder if it was a "broody thing" until I remembered my friend's hen which was never broody.
Makes sense though. The skill is definitely lacking in my girl, she misses every time 

CQ, yours sounds a real whizz at it, bless!

[hillfooter]

many broodies do this when you lift them from their nestbox.  I think it might be a submissive type of behaviour to show the others she still intends to tend her eggs.  When a broody leaves her nest the other hens will often try to chase her back and peck her to remind her to go back i think this straw throwing behaviour is to demonstrate to the other hens she is still being broody and will go back to the nest.
HF

[iwantanallotment]

It's not working that way with my lot, HF    The 2 broodies are causing real probs & upsetting the others, not letting them in to lay etc.  Today I had enough after a morning of even more pandemonium than usual, up & down there like a yoyo every 10 mins, and have caged one of the broodies to try and knock it out of her.
The other will probably be caged tomorrow, when I've dug out another dog cage.
Hopefully 2 or 3 days will sort them.
The straw chucking they can carry on with pleasure, but not the hogging the nest box & not letting the others lay  

[Ribbit]

Two of mine did this a while ago. One when she had a (secret) clutch of eggs.  and the other after she came out the coop. It's a natural instinct to collect nesting material i think. Though someone stold me they normally do this with the cockerel. It's quite funny to watch actually!

[evie2]

You should watch, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstalls The Secret Life of Chickens,