A conundrum! My hen isn't laying...

[Zoopathy]

Hmmmm...

Well this is making me feel much better, I have to admit. I'm in my first year with chickens, too--got them as week-olds last July. I've never seen a molt or even a broody hen before, and they laid all through winter, too. So maybe sweet Madeleine is just taking a break. I would expect a broody hen to move into the nesting box and not move out; not so?

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
One of my broody EE's stays in the nest box, the other one hid a nest beside the driveway. I spotted her and put some dummy eggs in her nest so she wouldn't switch spots and after about 2 weeks she decided to go full on broody and try to sleep there. I moved her to a safe broody pen and put eggs under her the next night when I was sure the move wasn't going to break the broodiness out of her.

 

[Zoopathy]

Sneaky chicken! LOL! Actually, Maddie has a rather secretive streak, too. I wonder...maybe she HAS hidden a nest and I've just been unable to find it? She still puts herself to bed at night with the rest of the girls, though, so if she does have a hidden stash, she's not THAT attached to it. I've been watching her, though...hmmmmmm...

 

[Kittymomma]

They'll keep putting themselves to bed until they decide they have enough eggs (5, 15, 20? Who knows what a hens counting system is...) and then they'll start brooding. That being said, not every hen that hides a nest goes broody. Seems like some of the little stinkers just don't want to share.