Broody hen?

[Chriskits]

Hey y’all I have this hen that keeps running away from the flock and hiding in our barn in the corner to lay eggs, she stays there all day except for a little bit to eat. She sits in a nook made of a corner shelf and some random materials. She doesnt want to return to the coop at night (my guess is she is scared of the other hens...) does this sound like something a broody hen will do? Sorry if this is kind of a dumb question I’m new to hens that have chicks.

 

[aart]

Sounds broody to me.
These are my go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

 

[MarkJr]

Doesn’t want to vs not returning to coop overnight is going to be the difference.

 

[BDutch]

Do you have a rooster and do you want to have chicks in winter? Is the barn a safe place for the broody and chicks (no rats /predators) . If not you better stop her broodiness. There is a lot of info available on this subject.