Help me understand.... a lone hen?

[PA_BOW_HUNTER]

I am more of a whitetail hunter than a turkey hunter. I hunt turkey when I can but my main priority it to hunt whitetail. That being said, I need to ask all of you turkey experts about something. For the last 4-5 days, I've had a lone hen come into my back yard. She scratches around for a half hour to an hour then disappears, sometimes when it's almost dark.

I have a small plot of lab-lab planted on about 1/2 acre in the back of the yard that has just started to show itself out of the ground but she doesn't even go near the plot. She just scratches right at the woods line and throughout the yard and once even made it to my deck.

My question, is it really normal for a hen to travel by itself for that many days? I thought maybe there were others in the woods but after 4 days she is the only one I've seen. Is it possible she is nesting somewhere around? Is this normal behavior to see a lone hen this much in this short of time?

[quiksilver]

She's probably already been bred. Once a hen is pregnant or lays her clutch, she loses interest in being with the flock. Instead, she'll linger around her nesting area and become very independent.

My guess is that she's planning to nest, or has already nested in close proximity to your yard.

[buckmaster68]

Does that mean that if the hens are still with the Toms they have not been bred yet? And do they have to be bred for every egg laid or is it just one time?
Just curious on these 2 things.
Thanks

[quiksilver]

A hen only needs to be bred one time per clutch of eggs. After that, she spends a considerable amount of time looking for a good nesting site. She may still hang around with the flock, but she will show little/no interest in the gobblers, and vice versa.

Once she knows she has buns in the oven, her behavior pattern changes considerably.

[PA_BOW_HUNTER]

Thanks quicksilver, she was out again last night just like clockwork lately....