A Guide To Normal Hen Behavior

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While we might think chickens raised in a loving and caring environment will always get along, the reality is often different, especially if you spend much time observing them. Have you noticed some of your chickens fighting, including your hens? What exactly is normal hen behavior?

A mother hen exhibits certain behavioral habits that differ significantly from those of a regular hen. Her priorities shift from focusing on her own survival to protecting and ensuring the survival of her chicks. She will even risk her life to teach and protect her babies from predators.

Mother hens have distinct behaviors, making it challenging to determine what is normal and what is not. Here’s a guide on typical hen behavior and how to protect a mother hen and her chicks.

Knowing normal hen behavior is crucial to anybody who owns chickens, and if you are lucky enough, the mother hen will show you her chicks in no time!

What Is Normal Mother Hen Behavior?

Normal mother hen behavior can vary slightly. However, all mother hens will show signs of aggression towards other chickens, roosters, and other mother hens. It is crucial that you know the normal mother hen behavior so you know what is and what is not out of the ordinary:

Mother Hens Will Prepare For Their Chicks

A hen and a rooster’s behavior would usually be similar, but mother hens are the ones who need to raise chicks. Before a mother hen can lay her eggs, she will look for a place to nest. She will eat, sleep, and preen here as well.

She will become highly territorial about this spot and peck or fight any other nearby chicken. The hen will also hiss, growl, or even peck at you if you try to remove her. A soon-to-be mother hen will only get off her nest to poo, drink, and eat once a day.

She will look fluffy and flattened out over her eggs. Sometimes, mother hens stay in the nest the whole time after laying their eggs or leave for a short period.

Sometimes, they will lay their eggs outside nests when dominant hens prevent them from entering their nests.

You can help your hen have the best chance at successfully raising her brood by building or purchasing a broody coop.

It should all be at one even level, without any ramps to go up and down. It would be best to completely isolate the hen from the rest of her flock, as rival hens may attack each other’s chicks and eggs.

A Hen Will Fuss With Her Eggs

The hen does all the hard work of adjusting and turning her eggs. She constantly fusses with them. The hen’s body does a fantastic job of keeping her eggs at the ideal temperature and moisture.

If it becomes too hot outside, the hen may get off her nest more often. She does this to let her eggs cool down for a while.

A hen instinctively knows the ideal temperature and humidity for her eggs. During the last week of incubation, the hen stays on her nest full time and stops turning them.

However, it might be good to remember that not all hens have the natural instinct to hatch a whole clutch of eggs. They may leave their nests for too long or let their eggs become too cold.

Some hens may even abandon their nests and leave them after a few weeks. Some chicken breeds make better mothers than other breeds.

Mother Hens Will Become Defensive

Mother hens are very protective of their newborn chicks once they hatch. However, they have a tendency to become aggressive toward the chicks of another mother. Therefore, separating mothers from chicks other than their own is necessary to prevent mortality.

The mother hens will peck and other chicks, causing them physical harm. In some cases, mother hens will peck at other chicks until they kill them.

Mother hens gather their own chicks to protect them against aggression, picking from other hens and predators.

Mother hens will be calm around other people if they know someone in their space. So, if you spend time with your chickens daily and feed them, a mother hen will proudly show off her chicks, showing you her excellent work!

If a mother hen is not familiar with a person, it will herd its chicks away from the person and may even attack them.

Mother Hens Will Teach Their Chicks

Mother hens will provide their young chicks with education, much like humans. Chicks will not consume water until their mother teaches them, or they accidentally discover water by pecking at bubbles and reflections.

Mothers will place their beaks into the water to help their young discover and learn the drinking process.

The chicks often fight amongst themselves, and the mother hen regulates and stops the fighting if she sees a threat on the outside.

Otherwise, you can expect mild fighting amongst the chicks as they discover and set the pecking order in their flock.

Other Broody Hens Will Help To Raise Chicks

Broody hens show a strong desire to hatch their eggs. Although a broody hen is not necessarily a mother hen, she will naturally desire to become one.

Broody hens will lay their eggs in the provided nesting boxes and avoid laying them outside.

They will also become territorial around the nesting boxes and try to sit on the eggs.

Can Chickens Recognize Their Offsprings?

Mother hens communicate with their chicks using verbal commands. Hens and chicks recognize each other’s sounds, which helps them stay together.

They will never mistake the vocalization of other chicks and think it’s their own offspring. The mother hen will vocalize, making her chicks aware of her location so they won’t possibly stray away.

A mother hen will naturally lead her checks to water and food. However, mother hens do not pick a favorite amongst their chicks and will never show a preference towards only one of them. If a chick can not see the mother hen, it will give a call of distress.

When the mother hen hears the call, she will run in the direction of the sound. However, if she can see the distressed chick but does not hear them, she will not go in that direction.

Do Chickens Know Their Mother?

As soon as chicks hatch out of their eggs, they will know their mother’s voice and follow her everywhere she goes.

If you have allowed your hen to brood on her nest and hatch her own chicks, you probably have had the fantastic opportunity to witness the strong relationship between a mother hen and her chicks.

Those babies know their mum and her voice from day one.

How Long Do Chickens Stay With Their Mother?

Broody hens sit on their eggs for 21 days and stay with their chicks for about 6 to 8 weeks after that. Once the chicks are eight weeks old, the mother hen abandons them and returns to her life in the coop as usual.

If it’s winter, it may be another week or two longer as some chicks grow slower than others.