Hidden Nest? Hiding Hen?

[lcwmt]

Update!!!
she is found, almost invisible, in a clump of Burdock, in between the house and deck. We are so glad she wasn't under the deck.
As dusk falls, we will move her. She'll be confined for several days.
Thanks everyone for your feedback.

 

[SueT]

 

[RWise]

I had a girl that would lay 12 eggs and broody! And of course she hid her nests.
Glad you have caught up with her and she is now safe!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's great. I assume she was sitting on eggs?

 

[lcwmt]

That's great. I assume she was sitting on eggs?

She was sitting on 15 eggs. It had been 17 days since she laid in one of the "official" spots. Presumably she is on her regular laying schedule.
Last year she began laying at about this time and we did not know it until we found the nest with a dozen eggs in it. She's a rascal <LOL>.
We have her in a small coop/run with a nesting box.

 

[SueT]

She was sitting on 15 eggs. It had been 17 days since she laid in one of the "official" spots. Presumably she is on her regular laying schedule.
Last year she began laying at about this time and we did not know it until we found the nest with a dozen eggs in it. She's a rascal <LOL>.
We have her in a small coop/run with a nesting box.

Well if there are no fertile eggs to hatch, you would want put her in a wire cage to break the broodiness...I had to do this last night w one of mine, a leghorn, which I presumed aren't prone to broodiness. She's in for 3 days, then we'll see.

 

[lcwmt]

Well if there are no fertile eggs to hatch, you would want put her in a wire cage to break the broodiness...I had to do this last night w one of mine, a leghorn, which I presumed aren't prone to broodiness. She's in for 3 days, then we'll see.

Thanks for the input.
This morning she is in the small run attached to the coop she spent the night in. (This year's chicks had just moved out. Everything fits together neatly sometimes <G>)

She is not sitting. Our plan is to watch her, if she acts "broody" we'll proceed with the wire crate approach. If she is up and about, eating drinking, scratching etc, then we will get her back on track with laying her eggs in an "acceptable" place (the nesting box in that coop). After a few days of normal behavior we'll open up the coop so she can rejoin the group if she chooses to. Meanwhile she is contained but not isolated.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Well if there are no fertile eggs to hatch, you would want put her in a wire cage to break the broodiness...I had to do this last night w one of mine, a leghorn, which I presumed aren't prone to broodiness. She's in for 3 days, then we'll see.

Good point.
What variety is your leghorn?
I had a black leghorn that would raise 2 or 3 clutches a year.
We used to keep a flock of about 100 white leghorns for egg sales but there were always a couple hens in broody jail. We kept 3 or 4 homemade cages suspended from the ceiling of the henhouse.
That's the only non-sitting breed I've had go broody. Maybe it is because I had more of them than the others like anconas, minorcas, jaerhons, buttercups, etc..

 

[SueT]

Good point.
What variety is your leghorn?
I had a black leghorn that would raise 2 or 3 clutches a year.
We used to keep a flock of about 100 white leghorns for egg sales but there were always a couple hens in broody jail. We kept 3 or 4 homemade cages suspended from the ceiling of the henhouse.
That's the only non-sitting breed I've had go broody. Maybe it is because I had more of them than the others like anconas, minorcas, jaerhons, buttercups, etc..

She's a brown leghorn, a year old.. I have 3 of them. It's a bit distressing because tomorrow I am going out of town for a week. I caged her yesterday, her first broody day.. She had part of yesterday, last night, and she'll have all day today, tonight, and in the late morning, I have to let her out ---and que sera, sera. DH will be caring for the chickens. I am thinking I will mark her so he can tell which is which, and if he finds her on a nest, put her out for free range...tho I don't want her hiding out in the weeds like the OP's did....not quite sure what to do, what I'm leaving him to deal with, he's so busy with other farm stuff. My Sebright only took 2 nites in the broody cage....so fingers crossed.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Since you caught her early, she may be fine by morning. I see you're as hot as we are. Perhaps put her in a cool place for the day and night, even with a fan blowing under the cage. That will speed up the process.
You can put a zip tie on one of her legs so he can differentiate her.