I have 8 hens of various breeds. When we returned from a week-long camping trip, I noted only 7 hens in the coop that night and thought I had lost one to a predator. The next morning, there she was in the chicken yard. For the next 2 nights, she was again missing from the coop after the door closed. I wandered around the chicken yard with a flashlight, but couldn't find her. I figured she was broody and setting on a stash of eggs somewhere. She is my largest hen and unable to fly over the fence. Tonight she was again missing from the closed coop but this time I was able to find her (she's white) snoozing at the foot of a vervain plant with no eggs under her. Much to her loud dismay, I picked her up and put her in the coop. After a few minutes I checked back and she was kind of huddled on the floor, not sharing the roost with anyone. Is she being shunned?

Is she too heavy to get up on the roost? I have had a few hens who seemed to be disliked by the others, but they were usually shy and reclusive from an early age. Is this a new problem? (In other word, I don't know.)

New development. She's always hung out with the rest of the flock and shared the roost, although now that I think about it, she was usually kind of a lone ranger on the roost - all the others were usually clustered together and she was off by herself at the opposite end. Maybe she has just gotten too heavy to get up on the roost - it's end of summer and in addition to free-feed crumbles, they have plenty of greens in the chicken yard and I usually also let them free range for a couple hours. I'll just monitor it I guess and keep tossing her back in the coop. Otherwise, she will likely get eaten by some night predator. I'll try to watch the evening 'return to coop' shuffle and see if she is just missing the automatic door closing, or if the flock is preventing her from getting in, or what the deal is. Not this evening, though, we'll be gone. Kind of a mystery...

Our loners have usually shown signs of peer abuse. Any missing feathers?

Yes, I always notice white feathers here and there, although she isn't so beat up that she's down to skin anywhere. She's also my only hen with 'bad butt.' I'd forgotten how potty humor can affect little boys, and when a 4 and 6 year old were visiting and asked what was wrong with the white hen, I just answered, 'Oh, that's Bad Butt Karen,' which totally cracked them up.

A friend's kids used to think the best joke ever was: "Guess what?" _ "Chicken butt!" I still don't get it...