Chicken leaves for couple days then returns...sounds like a chirping bird?

MyFrancesca

In the Brooder
7 Years
Oct 11, 2012
79
0
41
Akron, Ohio
A month back my chicken disappeared for 2 days and then to my surprise she reappeared in the morning 2 days later. Last week she wasn't in the coop on Wednesday but returned Thursday morning. She left during the day Thursday after she ate and laid an egg then Saturday, at 12:30am I was woken up to a chicken call...run outside to find her in our front yard. I put her in the coop and let her out in the morning. She ate, laid an egg then left...but she kept talking the entire time she was here. Like a chirping noise, similar to a duck I guess..continous...nonstop. It was odd.
We're city chicken owners. We left them free range our fenced in backyard but are building them a run now because of this chicken and problems with people. She is the only chicken that leaves the fence.
She has twice had an egg stuck inside her if it makes a difference to know that and is approximately 7 months old.
She has been gone since yesterday morning again. I really don't think anyone in our neighborhood has chickens. We do not have a rooster.
 
Sounds like she's broody and has found her own spot to nest. Broodies will make a constant clucking sound. Next time follow her to find out where her nest is.
 
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To myfrancesca...She may be an erratic almost broody...Sometimes hens will disappear and return from a hidden nest...Look around to see if you can find her...However, if she continues to lay, that ends this theory...Does she ruffle her feathers and cluck?....Take care..
 
I stalked her for an hour and she wouldn't leave...second I turned my back...gone. I will try harder lol. I'm assuming she is laying since we have 5 chickens and had 4 eggs after she left which our typical is 3...I also saw her in the nest.
I did notice she was ruffling a lot. The chirping is what bothered me. I kept looking her over to make sure she was ok.
 
You wise chicken souls. She came home this morning and I decided to trick her and keep her out front so I could follow her easily without having to climb fences (I'm 9 months pregnant, it wouldn't happen lol). I fed her corn, grain and some leftovers. She kept fluffing up and wagging her tail. She was so funny...eating like a mad hen. Then when she was done, off she took....running as fast as chickens can go! I had a hard time keeping up and she realized I was behind her so she stopped by a bush and groomed herself for quite some time. I felt like a creepy stalker in my elderly neighbor's yard so I walked to the other side of the bush out of sight of both chicken and neighbor. About 10 miunutes into her grooming she took off again. There is a garden box between two driveways on the side of a hill with pachysandra and conifer bushes. She has found herself a very good hiding spot down inside these bushes. However, I'm not sure she is safe from a raccoon or opossom if they find her. Which makes me wonder why she was calling for her flock at 12:30am a few nights ago.

So now...I need to figure out how to unbroody her!
 
18 eggs! EIGHTEEN! I cannot believe this. Is that a normal amount of eggs? How long do you think she has been hiding here without us knowing? I hcount my chickens every night so I know she was in the coop all but 3 nights.
 
I dunked her in the dog's baby pool...an hour later she was making a run for the nest again so I dunked her one more time a litle longer. She has been staying in the backyard at this point but still clucking quite a bit. If this doesn't work then we'll lock her in a dog crate.
 
put her in a pen with no bottom, and have fan blow up, cool off her belly and that should breeak her

also she could have been stealing eggs from your other chickens
 
Just curious....how would she have gotten the eggs from the coop? Her nest was at least 200 feet, over a fence and "thru the woods" kind of location. She would have had to move them past our 2 dogs as well since she was cutting thru their fenced in area. I'm new to chicken owning so I'm not sure how it'd be done. But since all her eggs were the same color and our other layers have darker eggs, I'm assuming those were all hers. Which is impressive. And makes me wonder how long she's been doing this!
 

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