Are my hens not normal?

[andreanar]

My hens have began laying in the last month. When they go to lay, they sit in the nest for an hour before the egg comes. Is this normal? Sometimes one of the others is waiting for the favorite nest, and at this rate it's going to take all day for them all to finish laying.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Entirely normal, yes. Some hens make more of a production of the whole affair than others. I have some that will hop in the nest and be back out again within 10 minutes, leaving behind a lovely fresh egg - and hens that will spend over an hour in the nest, shifting, turning, moving the bedding, etc before getting around to actually laying their egg. Each hen is an individual. Some prefer not to spend a moment more in the nest than necessary, others are all about their nesting time.

 

[andreanar]

Thanks. I only have 4 laying so far and each one is taking about an hour or so in the nest.