chicken rolling around and kicking her legs out like making a nest and purring

[realsis]

Today one of my six month old silkies started rolling around and kicking her legs out making a deep kind of hole and she would lay in it and purr really loud then roll around again, kick out her legs to make the nest even deeper then purr again. Was she just dust bathing or is this a sort of nesting behavior? She hasn't laid yet and is not squatting yet.. The behavior kind of startled me at first until I realized she's either dust bathing or nesting. Which do you think it was? She would really get her legs going to make the area deep then roll around a little bit more and just purr and purr.. She even wallowed her head in the shavings. Which behavior does this sound like to you?

 

[PrairieChickens]

Dustbathing. That's a happy chicken right there.

 

[realsis]

Thank you! Yep that's kinda what I thought. It's so funny to watch! She was really going for it and just a purring and purring!! At first it's startling to see them laying there but then when you see that they are enjoying it it's really cute!! This one particular bird gets into it more than my other birds!! She is serious about her dust bath. My other birds dig a bit and will lay down but they don't get into it as much as this bird!! You should have seen it! She was going nuts!! And just a purring !! This one will even let me pet her during her dust bath she just rolls over more and let's me rub her while she purrs.

 

[PrairieChickens]

I love watching my chickens dustbathe on a warm, sunny day. They look to be in total bliss.

 

[realsis]

So true. It was about 77 degrees out today here in california and boy did she love it! Chickens really enjoy a nice sunny day. They really are amazing creatures. Nothing sounds better than a purring chicken. It means all is well in their world and they are enjoying life. Very sweet isn't it! I must say it makes me happy when they are happy!! So precious really to watch how much they enjoy their dust bath.

 

[chicksurreal]

So true. It was about 77 degrees out today here in california and boy did she love it! Chickens really enjoy a nice sunny day. They really are amazing creatures. Nothing sounds better than a purring chicken. It means all is well in their world and they are enjoying life. Very sweet isn't it! I must say it makes me happy when they are happy!! So precious really to watch how much they enjoy their dust bath.

It's the best thing ever! I love to watch my chickens dust bathe, they sometimes do it for the better part of an hour! The first time I saw them doing it from a distance, it scared me half to death! All I saw were 14 chickens flopping and struggling in the dirt. Lol! As I got closer I realized what they were doing, it was too funny (once my heart started beating again).