Hen flapping wings/making odd noise very often

[topochico225]

Hey y'all,

My Red Star hen Peebles keeps doing the behavior in the video every couple minutes or multiple times a minute. The exact same behavior, every time.

She was doing it in the run before I let them out to free range, stopped, and is doing it again.

I did unfortunately have to have her sister euthanized 2 or 3 days ago. Her other sister is still alive and kicking, though. Hurricane Ida also swept through my city, so they were in dog crates in my living room. We have had no power for 36 hours. She laid fine this morning, seems fine, other than seeming agitated and doing that thing.

Any ideas to what it means?

TIA!

 

[Chickassan]

I tend to think it is either stress release or stretching.
My broodies do that a ton when they're booted off the nest.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is this a new behavior? Did it start the day she lost her sister? Does it go on all day long, every day? Have you checked her for physical issues, for example, checked her crop at night on the roost and then again in the morning before she has access to feed or water?

ETA: Is she eating and drinking normally? Have you checked her all over for mites or injuries?

 

[CalBickieMomma]

Do you have only hens? Because it looks like she's trying to crow. This happened to my previous flock a few years after my roosters passed. One of my hens would exhibit roo behavior - the wing flapping as shown in the video and the attempted crowing. She was definitely a hen, though - had laid eggs her whole life. I read somewhere (probably on this website) that hens will sometimes do this when there is no roo present. From what I understand, it isn't anything necessarily 'wrong' with her (maybe someone with more experience will be able to give you more feedback), just her trying to establish dominance and take up the rooster role. Hope that's all it is because otherwise she looks pretty healthy .

 

[topochico225]

Do you have only hens? Because it looks like she's trying to crow. This happened to my previous flock a few years after my roosters passed. One of my hens would exhibit roo behavior - the wing flapping as shown in the video and the attempted crowing. She was definitely a hen, though - had laid eggs her whole life. I read somewhere (probably on this website) that hens will sometimes do this when there is no roo present. From what I understand, it isn't anything necessarily 'wrong' with her (maybe someone with more experience will be able to give you more feedback), just her trying to establish dominance and take up the rooster role. Hope that's all it is because otherwise she looks pretty healthy .

Is this a new behavior? Did it start the day she lost her sister? Does it go on all day long, every day? Have you checked her for physical issues, for example, checked her crop at night on the roost and then again in the morning before she has access to feed or water?

ETA: Is she eating and drinking normally? Have you checked her all over for mites or injuries?

@CalBickieMomma, that makes so much sense! I guess they're reshuffling the pecking order since all that's left is 2 hens and 2 pullets in a separate pen.

@BigBlueHen53, she's only started doing it today, she's not injured/no mites or lice, normal crop, eating and drinking fine. Normal poop.

I totally understand the crowing theory. She was on the second step of the coop when her sister was laying and had her neck stretched out watching her. She did the weird crowing thing after her sister came out.

So odd!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If no physical issues, then sounds like @CalBickieMomma may be on the right track and it's behavioral/ social behavior. How interesting!

 

[aart]

Might have gorged on some food and has it stuck in her throat.

 

[kodster]

She could also be looking for her missing sister.