Help! Need to stop my chicken laying over at the neighbour's.

[tinselheart]

Are you SURE that that's an olive egger? That picture makes her look almost like a russian orloff.

Agree! She definitely lays coloured eggs but I think she looks like she has some Russian orloff in her. She's by far the smartest and friendly bird in the flock.

 

[tinselheart]

Update: they've all been in the pen for two days now. No eggs from her yet - I would know as the colour is specific to her.

Can they hold on to eggs?!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

No. Not for more than overnight unless they are egg bound and that's not a good thing.
Perhaps she had enough eggs in the clutch that she was about to start brooding them.
In that case, she would cease ovulating.

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

You’ll also need to gather all of those eggs and mess up her nest area in the neighbors garden. If you gather all of the eggs and maybe even break one or two as if a predator had raided the nest. When they find the nest empty and destroyed they usually lay in the safety of the coop. Good luck.

 

[NatJ]

Update: they've all been in the pen for two days now. No eggs from her yet - I would know as the colour is specific to her.

Can they hold on to eggs?!

I'm guessing she quit laying because she went broody.
From your first post:

She's been sneaking away to sleep on the clutch too the last three nights.

That sounds like broody behavior to me. Was she sitting on them during the day as well for those days? If so, certainly broody.

If she is broody, locking her in the pen may break her broodiness by keeping her away from the nest she chose, or it may cause her to start sitting on a nest inside the pen. Which one seems to depend on the hen.

 

[tinselheart]

You’ll also need to gather all of those eggs and mess up her nest area in the neighbors garden.

Eggs have all been taken in, there wasn't much of a nest - they were in a pile behind a shed and under some railings. But hopefully if she visits when she's let out and finds it empty she won't lay there again.

 

[tinselheart]

I'm guessing she quit laying because she went broody.
From your first post:

That sounds like broody behavior to me. Was she sitting on them during the day as well for those days? If so, certainly broody.

If she is broody, locking her in the pen may break her broodiness by keeping her away from the nest she chose, or it may cause her to start sitting on a nest inside the pen. Which one seems to depend on the hen.

She was disappearing for large chunks of the day - like a few hours, but then reappearing and wandering around happily with the rest of the flock. And after she was done sleeping on them the last two nights before I found her she'd be out early waiting for the others to be let out.

I agree it sounds like she was heading towards brooding on them. But she doesn't look broody in the least now - and isn't showing any signs of wanting to nest in the pen.

I don't know how long to keep them all penned up for now. Any ideas?

 

[aart]

I don't know how long to keep them all penned up for now. Any ideas?

Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop/run for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.