I don't know who can deny climate changes anymore with that crazy weather, here we are having ten days with 30 degree celsius.I hope everyone here is doing well. We have had some wretched storms lately but everyone is alive. Lots of hail, wind and rain. The chickens have been enclosed. They currently have access to the goat pastures and so far have not strayed from them. They are perfectly capable of escaping as they are jumping part of the fence to access them. As long as they stay in the goat pastures they will be left be. If they decide to come up to the house they will be locked into a roughly 50' by 70' area. With 33 chickens right now it would be a muck pit very quickly.
I have 3 broodies right now, one of which is a hatchery bird from last spring. I will have to get a picture of them but I haven't been out to the coop lately while its light enough to take a picture. The other two are Queen and Sundew. Queen sat last year but none of her eggs were fertile. She does not willingly let any of the boys mount her but I do think someone chases her down every once and a while. The other is Sundew who raised Chickadee, Magpie, Jackdaw, and Grackle last summer. They are all sitting on a mixed clutch of eggs as they are all in the main coop. Queen started sitting 5/8, Sundew the day after, and this hatchery hen just started 3 days ago. I had been taking her eggs because she didn't seem very serious but I gave her eggs yesterday and she is doing well.
I'm glad your chickens have found a way of escaping flowerbeds induced captivity !
I wonder if your hen that were broody and molted, didn't do that due to light restriction. I can see my first broody who stays in a dark place turning pale and her comb also fading colour.