So how do you tell if you have a missing laydee or a hiding chicken with maternal intentions??
Well, a few things help. Lack of millions of feathers/a body are very good signs... Fewer eggs happen when someone is broody....
But the reduction of visible flock from 7 to 6 means something is Very up. Fleeting scurrying shadows in background are means for hope.
And the appearance of egg sized poos means Someone is sitting on a nest; and only leaving it for the necessaries every few days.
In this case it is a very determined Aphrodite; on very right of this pic during a most rare break from her pointless vigil. We found her on a pile of 14 eggs and removed them; we don't know whether the new nest has Any. Regardless, there are no boy chickees round here, so it's just not a starter honey. L to R in this pic: Frankie, Seuss, Frieda and Aphrodite. Eating russian kale out of pic are Roadrunner, Benjy and Franco.
I hope to have a flock of 7 barren food producing pets again soon; I just feel mean when they are trying to have babies and I'm not turning the town upside down for some fertile eggs for them to incubate. Lots of apologetic treats coming; chickweed, kale, slugs, tomatoes, mealworms, spaghetti, yoghurt.