Missing hen

My chickens are out at the farm where I have my horses. Their pen is in a corner of the field. So, when I feed the horses, I let the chickens out. And, when I leave, I call and they normally come running since I give them some scratch grains when I lock them up.

But there are times when I have to play chicken round up. They don't normally stay in my field. Then, they forget how to get back in their pen and they'll be on the other side of the fence trying to figure out who moved the gate. Or, they'll be in another field completely oblivious to my call. There were a couple of times when I first got them in this pen that they didn't all show up B4 I left, but since I had to come back later, I'd just check on them then, and get that last one in. They'd always be wanting in by then.

Well today, I could not find one of my hens. I spent at least a good half hour looking for her. I checked in the other fields they get in, I checked in my run-in. I checked in my shed and in my tack stall. No chicken. There are places that the weeds have gotten pretty high. I checked in them the best I could-no chicken. I finally had to leave. Since I was pretty sure that RU would be coming over that way later on, I asked her to check to see if she had shown up and wanted in the pen.

However, I have a feeling that she's hiding. I know that my girls don't always lay their eggs where they're supposed to. I've found them in the hay feeder. I've found them in the hay. And, there are times I hardly get any eggs at all and can't find them. So, I'm thinking she's gone broody and has a nest hidden someplace. I'll keep looking. If I find her, and she's on a nest, I'll be putting some kind of chick proof fence up around her until after they hatch. Then, I'll go ahead and move her into my broody pen. I just might find myself w/more chicks than I was expecting! Maybe it's a good thing I bought a 50 lb bag of chick starter today.

Here's hoping she's broody and has a nice clutch for you. Keep us posted and if she does hatch out some babies, pictures are a must.

RU saw my hen last night. She said she was roosting on top of the fence, but by the time I got there, there was no sign of her. And again, when I went to round them up, I saw no sign of her. Since I'm hoping to spend the night soon, I just might have to see if she's there when I go to bed-then hopefully get up early enough to figure out where she goes. Or, I could just stick her in the pen overnight, then let her out in the morning and see where she goes.

She must have showed up last night after I left. KN didn't make it to the farm this morning, so one of the other boarders fed my horses. And, she didn't let my chickens out. When I got there to give Stormy his 2nd feeding, they were all in the pen. And, when I locked them all up, she was in there. So, I don't know what's going on w/her.

Hmm. I wonder if she's found a nice place to lay a clutch of eggs. They do that sometimes--lay in a hidden spot, then go sit on them after a few days.

mountainmama wrote:Hmm. I wonder if she's found a nice place to lay a clutch of eggs. They do that sometimes--lay in a hidden spot, then go sit on them after a few days.

That'd be my guess too

Well, I'll be continuing to keep an eye on her. My broody pen is big enough for a couple of batch of chicks to be raised safely.