Missing hens returning with chicks

[Magpie2]

We have a missing hen, this much is quite common. However we also have a family member who does security installation, so we have a ridiculous amount of cameras around the property. We watched this hen walk under the porch, which opens up to under the house, and we are 90% sure that she did not come out. we have also been watching for predators and they haven’t been around lately either.
We can’t access where we think she is without cutting a big hole in the wall so we’ve been waiting for her to come back with chicks since she seemed to be going broody. I was really hoping to see her around day 21 but it’s day 25 and still no sign of her. I realize that how many eggs she had before she started incubating could throw this date off by quite a bit though so I’m trying to stay hopeful.

People who have had run away hens come back after hatching chicks, please share your stories! How long were they missing for? How many chicks did they come back with?

 

[Gigachad poultry]

We have a missing hen, this much is quite common. However we also have a family member who does security installation, so we have a ridiculous amount of cameras around the property. We watched this hen walk under the porch, which opens up to under the house, and we are 90% sure that she did not come out. we have also been watching for predators and they haven’t been around lately either.
We can’t access where we think she is without cutting a big hole in the wall so we’ve been waiting for her to come back with chicks since she seemed to be going broody. I was really hoping to see her around day 21 but it’s day 25 and still no sign of her. I realize that how many eggs she had before she started incubating could throw this date off by quite a bit though so I’m trying to stay hopeful.View attachment 3598891

People who have had run away hens come back after hatching chicks, please share your stories! How long were they missing for? How many chicks did they come back with?

I had a friend who had an ayam cemani who left for about 23-25 days and she came back with at least 10 chicks of not 15-27. How she fit that many eggs under her I have no idea but to say the least she definitely came back with a fluffy army

 

[Gigachad poultry]

Also that same friend has a big barn for extra food and supplies for their goats and inside the hay bales two of his hens and ended up hatching a clutch of 6 and a clutch of 8! Your hens has a very pretty mohawk btw!

 

[SmiYa0126]

Can you put food and water near where she came out and call to her?

 

[Magpie2]

Can you put food and water near where she came out and call to her?

We try to leave food and water out for her but she hasn’t come out even once. There would be plenty of bugs for her to catch and it’s been raining frequently so she might have a handy little puddle somewhere under there too.

She’s a very stubborn hen when she isn’t hormonal so it’s hard to imagine how much worse she’d be when broody. We will call for her and shake food, etc. but she just hunkers down if she wants to be left alone, when we eventually find her she screams and runs away at full sprint, that’s her normal behaviour, now imagine with hormones. She’ll come over on her own terms for treats and pets so she’s not scared of us, just stubborn and grumpy.

 

[Magpie2]

I had a friend who had an ayam cemani who left for about 23-25 days and she came back with at least 10 chicks of not 15-27. How she fit that many eggs under her I have no idea but to say the least she definitely came back with a fluffy army

So she was probably hiding eggs in advance then. ~1egg/24hours or more and ~21 days to hatch.
I don’t think my girl was laying them in advance before disappearing, she’d been checking out other places before that day. She wandered off into the trees the day before she went under the house and we had to track her down. She was so mad when we found her. We only knew she had left her usual area because the cameras caught it, she’s very sneaky.
I hope she comes back with her curly babies

 

[SmiYa0126]

We try to leave food and water out for her but she hasn’t come out even once. There would be plenty of bugs for her to catch and it’s been raining frequently so she might have a handy little puddle somewhere under there too.

She’s a very stubborn hen when she isn’t hormonal so it’s hard to imagine how much worse she’d be when broody. We will call for her and shake food, etc. but she just hunkers down if she wants to be left alone, when we eventually find her she screams and runs away at full sprint, that’s her normal behaviour, now imagine with hormones. She’ll come over on her own terms for treats and pets so she’s not scared of us, just stubborn and grumpy.

Ok. Hopefully she'll be out soon!

 

[Magpie2]

Ok. Hopefully she'll be out soon!

I really hope she’s okay. It’s been four weeks now and still no sign of her

 

[SmiYa0126]

I really hope she’s okay. It’s been four weeks now and still no sign of her

Hmm, she should be out! Can you send a kid in there to see if she's ok?

 

[Magpie2]

Hmm, she should be out! Can you send a kid in there to see if she's ok?

I don’t even think a kid could fit in there unfortunately. Some of the walls around the porch are plywood so we might start sawing at this point.
She damaged her flight feathers pretty badly a while ago and they’re basically just the shafts now so maybe she can’t incubate the eggs properly and she’s just sitting on them for an extra long time

I want to bring her home regardless, even if it’s just a body at this point.

Schrödinger's chicken