Gone Gus Gus Gone

I almost had a panic attack last night when I could not find Gus Gus at bedtime. For the first time ever Pecky Becky was here but Gus was nowhere to be found. When a bird goes missing there are a few questions I usually ask:

1) Where is Ava? In the past when a turkey has gone missing, Ava has been the culprit. But tonight there were no piles of feathers to be found and Ava wasn't even in the adjoining paddock since she had been separated from the sheep who are currently grazing that field. 

2) Are the ducks missing? Typically ducks are the slowest and easiest birds to catch so they are the first to be taken in a predator attack. But tonight Emma, Abby and Kate were present and accounted for.

3) Were any gates open? Nope. All closed.

4) Did the birds need their flight feathers clipped? Could they have flown the coop (literally)? What was left of Gus' flight feathers were clipped after her last Ava attack. She could not have grown them back yet.

Having exhausted all of my typical queries, I was stumped. Then I thought back to Sheep Shearer Ross asking me on Saturday if my turkey hen was laying well. I respond, "Actually, no. Not a single egg this year." Which is weird thinking about it now, since Gus Gus laid lots of eggs around this time last year.

And so, it dawned on me - Gus probably hid a clutch of eggs somewhere in the weed forest behind the chicken coop and she has decided it is time to sit on them. I searched through the weed forest last night for over an hour listening intently for Gus' clucking sounds but there was not a peep. Silence. So, I wished her well and hoped she was hiding good enough to evade any coyotes or foxes that may be wandering by.

Sure enough, Gus emerged from somewhere this morning after I let the rest of the birds out of the coop - probably looking for food and water.  At least she's alive.

Now we need to decide whether to stalk her and try to find her clutch so we can relocate them to a safer space where they can all be locked inside at night. Or do we just leave Gus do her thing in the weed forest and wish her luck?