Suddenly clucking very loudly! Others suddenly trying to fly to the top of the run.

[Jamalt1]

We have 5 chickens, who are 16 weeks old. 3 are Buff Orpingtons, 2 are Easter Eggers.
All of a sudden today, one of the Buffs started clucking loudly and nonstop. It has been going on for hours. All 5 of the birds are staying close together. However, the two Easter Eggers tried a few times to fly to the top of the 10 foot high chicken run. They have never done that before. It seems like they were trying to escape from her clucking. None of them has laid an egg yet. No predators in sight.
Any thoughts or similar experience?

 

[Spartan22]

Do they see snake around? Or looking for place to nest?

 

[Jamalt1]

Thanks. No snake. They have a coop within a 20 x 10 chicken run. It has 5 nest boxes in it. They have not used them yet, though. The clucking form the one bird is still going on this morning. I am concerned she may be sick as this is completely new.

 

[slordaz]

It may be she is getting close or ready to start laying, my pullets are watching the new hens we added and even the goofball rooster is now trying to lay an egg in the nest like the hens. We got 6 older hens that 1 was already laying and 2 others started the next day, but the other 3 are still a couple of weeks off from starting. They were really noisy just before they started laying and and still are but the one that had been laying for about a month when we got her seems to have settled into a consistent rythm on laying and only makes noise now when she is actually laying.

 

[sjturner79]

I would check her for egg binding - she may be trying to lay her first egg but can't cause it too big.

 

[Jamalt1]

Thank you for all of the help! If it keeps up, we will get her checked out soon for egg binding.