disappearing hen

[guthrum]

Hi - I am a new chicken owner - we have 23 hens about 1 year old. We have a beautiful black australorp who never shows up in the coop at nite - we thought a fox got her but she shows up to eat about every 2-3 days, she seems famished, and she's all puffed up at the other chickens. she eats and runs off again. been unsuccessful at finding where she goes, is she setting on a nest? what to do about that?

[Richard]

Hello there.

She certainly appears to have the symptons of a broody hen.
I have one at the moment who comes out clucking in the morning as soon as she hears the food, runs out like an Olympic Athlete, won't stand still and eat (has to pick a pellet here, pick a pellet there).
She'll do this for a few minutes, then rush back into the shed and that's it for the day.

I reckon if they were completely free ranging, she would do the same, but only if she has some eggs to sit on.

Which would then lead me to believe, one or two of them may be wandering off to where she is to lay - nice little hidey hole somewhere.

So it may be an idea to follow the other one's.

Mine's been broody for 4 weeks, so I'd imagine she'll come out of it soon, but they can go on for ridulous amounts of time.

The final solution is to trap her and put her in an isolation ark for a while (just shelter, not an enclosure). Then put her in with the others at night.

Hope it goes OK. Let us know, always someone else looking in for similar 'trends' etc.

Cheers, Richard

[Mo]

I've got one that gets out of the run early in the morning (soon after they've been fed).
I used to see her wandering about, go out with some scraps, she'd run back and once I'd lifted the flocknet so that she could scramble back in she would stay in for the day. Now she has a spell where I can't find her (does she go over the road for a second breakfast with the hens there?), but when she turns up and I put her in she stays in.
Mine doesn't look broody, in fact if the Omlet site is right she's not laying. (She has yellow legs).

Aren't hens funny, always something new to keep us amused. Just hoping she doesn't find the strawberries while she's out!