Can a hen go broody her first week laying eggs?

[sonjap]

The title says it all really. Only other details would be she's layed a few hard shelled eggs in the nest box and then yesterday when she was free ranging she was sitting and not wandering around chasing bugs with the others. She looked bloated and I wondered if she was sick. When the other hens started wandering back to the coop because it was getting late, she stretched out a wing, made a funny noise, and out popped a soft shelled egg. She then went to the coop. This morning she won't come out of the nest box. I hope she's not sick.

 

[Den in Penn]

They can go broody right after they start, however its rare. If she were mine I'd watch her to see what she does over the next day or so. The soft shell may or may not mean any thing. What breed is she?

 

[Cotton42]

It can happen, I had two sisters go broody two weeks to the day after they started laying.

 

[sonjap]

She's a cinnamon queen. She finally did get off the nest and had actually laid another egg. I didn't think they could lay again that quickly.

 

[Den in Penn]

They say twenty five hours for them to cycle another egg through. That can vary with the individual. Then there is the time the production hiccups and its shorter. Maybe why she was acting off.

 

[Cotton42]

Guess she's just working out the kinks.