I just want to thank you for your advice. I have taken the nesting box away. I think the biggest mistake I made, is to scratch her head a lot, as she loves it. She also holds her beak against my chin when I do that. It is such a habit, but I will limited it. But she is a very pushy hen, when she wants her head scratch. I will do my best. I have shorted their day time, sleeping time now is from 6 pm to 6 am. Thanks again.
Hi Elizabeth,
I hope the changes work. Usually head scratches are OK. It’s the body that should be off limits because petting her on the body can be a hormone trigger since only the bonded mate is allowed to do this. I realize the advice should read “limit any petting to ONLY her head and neck. I can see how that can be misunderstood without adding “only”. So head and neck = yes, body = no. LOL Unless she tries to feed you or regurgitate, the head scratches are fine.
Thanks for the update!
Brenda
