rooster and hen going broody together?

[mommaford09]

I have 2 bantams and they have been doing this for 3 days now. The boy sits in their little nest and then the girl. The boy growls and runs around; she gets up and he goes and sits. What in the world are they doing? The first day it was like an April fools joke. They were actually sitting on an egg but then halfway through the day they were off and running around the yard. Yesterday same thing. Today no egg yet, but this morning there they were. Now it's half way through the day and they are off scratching in the yard. Is this normal or do I have strange chickens? (which wouldn't surprise me, they are crazy)

 

[centrarchid]

That is part of the courtship behavior where rooster indicates to a hen coming into lay that he has some suitable nesting sites. Hens so courted are giving signals the roosters can read. For me such hens are usually out looking for a harem to insert themselves into and the harem masters do their best to impress the hen with their display and nesting habitat. Most domestic flocks do not provide so much choice on the hens part although you can still see a fair amount of the communications involved.

Some roosters invest in their offspring and are generally aware of where all the hens in their harem nest even when they do not play an obvious role beyond fertilizing eggs.