Is my Easter eggers broody or egg bound?

[MotherHenJamie]

Ok so i have 3 eastes egger and have not gotten any eggs from then in 2 weeks. The other night i was counting my girls before i closed up the coop and my very timmid EE was missing!!!! After looking for a bit i found her in my flower bed sitting on a clutch of 25 eggs!!!

So i took her to the roost and collected the eggs and discarded them. I have never seen her sitting there before and now she has not layed an egg since i took the eggs away.

We recently built them a new coop and next boxes and only the EE are not laying in them. Everyone else seems to love the new set up.

Back to the EE in question. For the past week or so she has seemed to be acting weird and since i found her clutch of eggs she been acting even more weird. She flapping her wings, puffing out and squawlking. Almost like shes straining to push out and egg and cant. Ive felt around her vent, and could feel anything. Gave her a warm bath and havr been putting her in thw nest box several time over the past 2 days. Tonight i had to find her again in the flower bed and place her on the roost. She stayed put but seem not normal.
I lost on what to do. Btw shes 6 months old and is very low on the pecking order if that helps.

 

[Carpenter]

It sounds like broody behavior to me. I would keep an eye on her but I suspect she is just broody.

 

[MotherHenJamie]

I have never delt with a broody hen but have researched alot about it. These EE are very shy and dont like human interaction. And drive me crazy at times.

 

[Carpenter]

None of my EE have gone broody. I had a broody silkie that would not sit on her eggs but would sit next to them. She sat that way for weeks and finally snapped out of it and joined the flock in their daily routine. It is just a waiting game for you now. Just try to leave her be, but do keep and eye on her.

 

[MotherHenJamie]

She is still eating and drinking just when i let them free range she will sneak over to her spot. When i approch her she raises her back side and squawks at me. Ill watch her close. Im begining to wonder if she is hold in her eggs till i let her out of the run but now is having trouble pushing it out. Or she just being broody. But ever since we moved them to the new coop all my EEs have stoped laying.
Thank you for your advice

 

[Carpenter]

I had a hen do that exact thing when she was broody. She would commandeer the nesting box that other hens had laid in and not let me take the eggs from under her. She would puff up her feathers and peck me as I reached under her. Funny little birds. I'm glad that I could help!

 

[MotherHenJamie]

I would worry so much if she were in a nesting box. Not out in the yard. She dont act like she broody in the run just when she free ranges. Maybe cause she so young and dont know what shes doing. Lol
Ive heard that silkies tend to go broody and i have one of those too.

 

[donrae]

Sounds like broody behavior to me.

Sometimes they "practice" going broody for a while, that may be what she's doing.

Hens don't lay while they're broody, so that's normal.

You can break her by keeping her off the nest for several days. Broody buster cages work great for that if you're not home all day to chase her off the nest.