Rogue Chicken

One of the chickens has gone rogue. She's been out of the coop for almost a month and refuses to go back in. I've managed to capture her and return her to the flock twice, but she always leaves the coop with the intention never to return.

In the meantime, she scavenges the barn looking for any spilled feed, and cleans up any oats the horses don't eat. She gets her water from the cat's bowl and roosts in the stall right next to the coop.

Rogue chicken's roost.

She's laying eggs (probably about 3-4 a week), but it took me a while to find her nesting spot in the hay bales.
 

Rogue's egg-laying hay bale. As you can see by the darker brown egg, she's wasn't the only chicken laying outside of the nest boxes.

My fear is that the other chickens will follow her example and not go into the coop at night. The coop itself is very secure, while the rest of the barn is not. And, we have had our share of possum encounters.

Rogue may be destined for the stew pot sooner rather than later.