Awkward behavior??

[wpage1979]

I have 6 hens, 3 Rhode Island Reds, and 3 Australorps. One of the Australorps keeps escaping from the chicken pen, and is hiding in the barn. She has been laying eggs in the barn, and for the past 8 days, has not laid any eggs, or left the barn. There were 2 eggs she was laying on, but I removed those eggs a few days ago. When I try to get her out of my barn, she growls and tries to bite me. Do I need to kill this chicken, or is this some kind of phase that chickens go through? Thanks for any help.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

She's broody and wants to raise a family.
If you have fertile eggs, give them to her to hatch.
If not, break her by placing her in an elevated cage, thereby cooling her bottom.

Kill her? Absolutely not.

 

[wpage1979]

Thanks. I know the eggs can't be fertile, I have no rooster. There aren't any eggs where she lays, and she doesn't leave to eat or drink. I will put her back in the chicken pen, and she finds a way out and goes right back to the same spot. I don't understand it since there are no eggs, and she has not laid an egg in over a week.

 

[StarryEyzz]

I am doing a lot of reading on when hens go broody. She will not lay egss in this stage. There are a lot of diffrent ways to deal with this. Do a search on here and you will see lots of tips.