Baffling Broody Hen Question

[Marct611]

We have 2 broody black jersey hens that went broody Saturday. One gave up on Saturday afternoon and the other stayed focused. We don't have a rooster so we bought some fertilized eggs and put them under her.
Today we noticed that when the serious broody hen left her clutch to go eat and drink, the other hen jumped in the box and resumed broodiness. Then when the serious broody came back in she just sat in the neighboring empty box until # 2 left then returned to her clutch of eggs and is still there. Meanwhile # 2 could careless and is out being completely normal with the rest of the flock.
Our big mystery question is... Is it a normal trait for the hens to cover for the broody hen when she gets up to go eat and drink?? or do we just have the "special" ones...

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Did you check her clutch to make sure the other hen isn't sneaking eggs into the nest? This can seriously affect the chances of the eggs you actually want to hatch if she is. I have hens that like to brood together, but they do it all together. Usually when one gets up to take care of business the other will roll the eggs under. Then when that one comes back they'll switch places. Then they'll divide the eggs again until they're happy. The only time I've had hens in and out of a broodies nest is when they're trying to lay there. I keep broody cages in my coop, that way they can still hatch their eggs within the flock, aren't messed with by the other birds and aren't tying up the nest boxes. I suppose anything is possible though, maybe she's still playing with the idea of getting serious. Good luck!