Any good chicken keeper will always do their best to make sure that their birds are comfortable and healthy at all times.
If your bird starts to look uncomfortable, look sick, or act out of the ordinary then you’d be right to be worried. This article explores why your chicken may be hiding her head.
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Why is my chicken hiding her head?
Changes to how your little bird acts will naturally start to concern you and the chicken hiding her head in her feathers is certainly something that may worry you as a chicken owner.
Here is why your bird may be tucking her head in her feathers.
She is sleeping or keeping warm:
Your chicken tucking her head into her feathers when sleeping or when cold is not something to be concerned about, in fact, this is quite normal and natural chicken behavior.
The bird will tuck its head in when she is trying to keep warm and when she wants to get comfortable to get to sleep.
The bird will tuck its head into its feathers face first in this case.
What to do:
As long as your chicken isn’t showing any signs of distress along with the tucking of the head then the bird is not ill and you don’t have to worry about the bird.
If the bird dozes off a little while after it gets comfortable and tucks its head then you can let the bird be.
If you think that the bird is cold then you can help keep the bird warmer by making sure to manage any drafts in your bird’s coop by closing up any cracks or holes in the coop.
Install radiant heaters in your chicken’s coop to warm the bird up, also, provide roosts in your coop for your birds to use so they aren’t too close to the cold floor.
Illness:
Another reason why your bird may be hiding her head may be that the bird is sick.
This isn’t so much as a tucking of the head into the bird’s feathers face first, it is more of a bird pulling its neck in and tucking its head into its body neck first.
If your bird is doing this because it is sick then the bird will also start to show other symptoms of being ill and these symptoms will depend on what illness your bird has.
What to do:
Your chicken tucking its head into its wing is a symptom of a variety of symptoms. The other symptoms will help you figure out what your bird has.
There are a variety of illnesses that may be causing your bird to tuck its head and some are serious and need immediate medical attention.
It is recommended that you take your bird to the vet, or better yet, avian vet. The vet will examine the bird, run tests on the bird, and will quickly diagnose the bird.
Once your bird has been diagnosed the vet will offer treatment to the bird if there is treatment available for the bird’s condition.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Chicken Hiding During The Day?, Chicken Hiding In A Corner, Why Do Chickens Jump On Your Back?, Why Do Chickens Jump On Each Other?, Why Is My Chicken Hanging Her Head?, Chicken Standing Still With Eyes Closed
