- Mar 3, 2014
- 50
- 3
- 79
I have a red sex link hen that started laying on her nest right after she lost her flock last month due to a coyote attack. I thought she was depressed so I got a few more chickens to go in with her (we free range our chickens, btw). After a day or two she got off her nest and acted normal again. About 3 weeks after that she laid her a clutch of 8 eggs and started sitting on them. She acted broody so I got some fertilized eggs for her to lay on. That was a week and a half ago. She acted broody, fluffing up and squealing when I got too close so I left her alone to do her thing. This morning I noticed that she was laying strangely on her nest, so I picked her up. She had eaten all but one egg. No shells were left. It seems as though she's eating the eggs so she can stay on her nest. All the eggs she's laid have strong shells so I don't think calcium is an issue. I really think she's just eating the eggs in order to stay on her nest all day long. When I do take her off her nest she struts around the yard with her feathers fluffed out and making a weird clucking noise. What's going on and what can I do to help her?