When a hen starts to "hide" her eggs.............

[dreamyNbush]

I have a hen that has always laid her eggs in the nesting box. The past couple of days she has been "hiding" them in another spot. In a different building that she can get into as a matter of fact. I was curious if this was a sign of getting broody or something else.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ibpboo]

I have a hen that hides eggs, and goes broody. But I've also had my other hens lay eggs in hidden areas, that I find later, but they themselves never go broody. So, really depends on the hen I guess.
How old is she? Has she ever gone broody before?

 

[dreamyNbush]

She's an amercauna mix from last summer's hatch. So she's never gone broody before......I know.....that doesnt help much does it? lol

 

[ibpboo]

Are you hoping for her to go broody? Do you have other hens? Do they all lay in the same box? Do you have a rooster?

I do not have a rooster, so my hen's eggs never hatch. I have two that go broody. They start laying their eggs separate from the rest. The one hen, I usually do not find her. She is a chicken that showed up over a year ago, and never goes into the cage at night, she is a loner chicken. lol
But she'll lay about 6 eggs or so, then start setting. Once she was way under the barn and I could not get her and she tied to hatch those eggs for nearly 3 months before she gave up. Poor girl. Right now, she's done it again, and I do not know yet where she is hiding.

caught a typo

 

[new-roo]

my broodies have always decided to take over a nest box, usually the one with the most eggs, if she is hiding/putting them in places other in nest box, maybe she is being bullied away from her normal nest box, found an out of the way corner(in another building) decided its safe, and is now laying there. I have 2 hens that have decided they prefer the box on the shelf in a shed to thier normal nest boxes, and will wait for me to open the shed, so they can get in. lf shed is not opened they will return to the coop, but each day they attempt to get into the shed to lay.

 

[gritsar]

I set up an enclosed broody nest in a secluded corner of my coop. I am trying to encourage broodiness and felt my regular nest boxes were too wide open and busy. I put golf balls in it same as in my other nests.
Yesterday one of the hens (don't know which) went into the broody nest, made a perfectly round nest out of the hay and laid an egg amongst the golf balls. I marked the egg and returned it to the nest.
This morning Jezebel came running in and got upset when I tried to check that nest for additional eggs.
I think your girls might be trying to go broody.