Egg song, food song, or just a yelling birb?

[ElizaMay]

Hey all, my trio is about 17-18 weeks old at this point, I have 2 red sexlinks and a blue australorp.

All three have started vocalizing recently. Usually it's a pretty quiet coo or the occasional squawk. I haven't heard any traditional bawk-bawk-bawking but one of the hens has decided coos and grumbles weren't getting her point across and started just, like *screaming at the top of her lungs*

I *think* she's getting ready to lay but I'm not 100% sure. All I know is that she spent about three hours squawking her head off today. Most of that was spent right in front of my screen door, like she wanted to get in or wanted treats. When I went to sit down and ignore her, she got louder! So I went outside to see what was up and she proceeded to climb all over me, which is also unusual. They'll sit with me on the deck but are usually pretty hands-off and I normally spend an hour or two working outside with them to keep them well socialized.

I did a round of the yard (they have full run of the yard all day) and checked all their usual spots to see if there was something upsetting her. No cats in the garden, no unusual looking fruits (I did find a giant zucchini, a few tomatillos and a tomato). The trio followed me around, as they do, but the same hen kept yelling as we went. She would stop occasionally if something caught her attention, like said zuchhini, but went right back to it once she was no longer interested.

Okay hang on, she's now in a nesting box. Still yelling at the top of her lungs. I thought the egg laying song was after the egg got laid? Is this like a practice run?

She just left the nesting box and has gone back to foraging. Still no eggs. Still noisy. I guess my question is, is she getting ready to lay or is this just regular teen-chicken behavior?

Mine screech before and after laying - especially if the fave box already has a girl or two squarshed in.