One of my Hens is determined to leave the yard!

[Chamqual]

I have 5 hens, most have recently started laying eggs this week. (mostly unknown which ones).

I have 1, a road island red, who I have found in the neighbors yard 3 times in the last week, and today I watched her hop the fence.

She started out pacing along it and cawing loudly. (while the rest of the flock was elsewhere in the yard)

She eventually hoped it, and I followed her thinking she was maybe laying outside the yard? Possibly due to my presence she just seemed to wander and peck. Meandering towards the neighbors yard. I decided to catcher her and put her back in my yard, but she proceeded to do the same as before and jumped the fence.

None of my other chickens are doing this and no others have escaped my fencing. Can anyone give me some ideas why this is happening?

Thanks!
-Allissa

 

[sourland]

My gut instinct is that she has a hidden nest in your neighbor's yard.

 

[Chamqual]

That's what I was feeling, but I have looked under every bush I could find and didn't have any luck. I better keep looking, unless my neighbors want to adopt!

 

[Wyandottes7]

I think that she is trying to find the right place to lay an egg. My hens act quite frantic when they need to lay an egg, often racing all over their coop while squawking loudly. Do you have a nest box for her, and is it secluded and quiet? Are other chickens keeping her away from the nest box? It may be that she just hasn't found the nest box yet, and is therefore trying to find another place to lay an egg.

 

[Chamqual]

UPDATE and REPLIES:
I just hiked over to the neighbors yard and finally found her deep under the overhang of their bay window. I pulled her out along with one cold egg. I tried hard to show her it was in my hand the whole way home, hoping she wont go back for it again??

I put her and the egg in one of the three nesting boxes in the coop. Not sure if she noticed the egg and she came right out of the box.

BTW, none of the chickens are currently using the nesting boxes in the coop (yes they have golf balls in them).
-although I have an automatic coop door that was having problems for a few weeks and they got shut out at night a few times.... could this by why they are not laying inside?

ALSO, by the time I wrote this update, she has left the yard again.....

 

[backwoodsmamma]

I was late getting my nesting boxes built so my girls were laying all over the yard. For my kids it was an easter egg hunt everyday. They love it. I on the other hand dont want a bunch of random egg bombs in my yard. So this had worked for most of my chickens.

I knew that the girls were pretty much done laying eggs by 11 am. So Street next boxes were in place for one week I made them stay in the coop with their nest boxes until 11am before letting them out. At first they just lashed on the floor but as soon as one chicken figured out the nest boxes the others followed suit.
A chicken time out I guess lol.

Good luck I hope she stays home soon

 

[Chamqual]

That sounds like a good idea. Keeping them in the coop until 11am for a few days seems do-able! Do you put food and water in there too?

Thanks for the idea.