Broody or Daffy?

[chicknjane]

So I have a hen who is flying the coop and disappearing for the day then coming back at night only to roost. She has been doing this for awhile. She even started laying eggs in her own little make-shift nest. I would just collect the egg each day. Now for the past 2-3 days she is hiding someplace I haven't been able to find yet. I think she is hiding in our breezeway, but I haven't found where.

I've read other posts about broody behavior and to me this seems as though she is trying to put together a clutch of her own, but having never actually had a hen go broody, I'm not sure.

Could this behavior be indicative of my little girl going broody or just being daffy?

If it does turn out she is broody, should I just put her in her own little coop and let her set? (I have a coop set up for just that purpose, I just wasn't expecting to use it until spring.) Also, its been the coldest temps the past few days, so If she was leaving any eggs out overnight, I would expect that they may have froze. Temps have been as low as 8 degrees at night.

Your impressions and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Marcy

 

[LynneP]

She sounds broody to me.
She is playing control games with you and winning!

It's a rough time of year to be hatching but gosh a lot of them brood in January (who knew?)

I hope some experienced chickeneers will chirp on this!

The hen on the left in this pic has plucked feathers off her belly. She is perpetually broody but does not lose weight and we don;t have a rooster, so...

She waits until nearly everyone has laid then shifts the last hen and broods the eggs until I arrive.



I call her Zipfi-barebottom.