A few questions to try to help us understand better. What is her behavior when she is off the nest? Does she come off the nest in the morning and stay off until bedtime or is she just off for a short while? Most broody hens will come off the nest once or twice a day to eat, drink, and poop. I've seen some stay off for only about 15 minutes at a time and only come off once, usually in cooler weather. During the heat of summer I've had hens come off twice a day and stay off for over an hour each time. Often I don't see them come off at all, but as long as she is not pooping in the nest she is coming off.
If she comes off in the morning and doesn't go back on the nest until bedtime she's not broody, just sleeping in the nest. It sounds like she might have been sleeping on the roosts before and it sounds like yours are pretty young, just starting to lay. Usually when one goes from sleeping on the roosts to somewhere else like the nests it means they are getting beat up on the roosts. That's a pecking order thing, a stronger chicken starts beating up on a weaker one. If your flock is just starting to lay they are changing maturity which often shakes up the pecking order.
Don't read anything into the hen pulling eggs under her. I've seen hens that are not broody do that.
Is there poop in the nest in the morning? A broody hen instinctively knows to not poop in the nest. A hen laying an egg should not poop in the nest though I've had a few with plumbing problems so they do a bit when they lay the egg. If she is pooping in the nest at night she is sleeping there, not being broody.
There are other signs that a hen might be broody. When they are off the nest they usually walk around by themselves with feathers fluffed up and making a constant puck, puck, puck sound. They are often though not always very defensive of the nest. These are just indications they might be, I've had hens do these that are not broody enough to give eggs to. Some broodes pluck feathers from their breasts to line the nest though the majority of mine do not do that. Not all broodies do these things. These are just signs they might be but they could be important signs.
I don't know what is going on with that pullet. It sounds to me like she may be sleeping in the nest, not broody at all. It's kind of hard to judge behaviors over the internet. The more details you can give us the more we are likely to help you.
I don't like to hatch eggs from pullets until they have been laying at least a month. I often don't get great hatch rates and the chicks that hatch seem to be a bit weaker, I have a higher mortality rate with them. A pullets first eggs are usually pretty small compared to what she will soon be laying and it sometimes takes her a while to get all the kinks worked out of her internal egg laying factory. Usually if she has been laying about a month those things are acceptable.
I've never hesitated to give a first time broody eggs if I want her to hatch and she shows the right signs of truly being broody. I've had just as much trouble with hens that have hatched and raised previous broods fine as with first time broodies. We all have our own experiences and opinions based on our experiences or other sources. That's a big part of why you get so many different opinions on here, we all have different opinions to draw on.
If she comes off in the morning and doesn't go back on the nest until bedtime she's not broody, just sleeping in the nest. It sounds like she might have been sleeping on the roosts before and it sounds like yours are pretty young, just starting to lay. Usually when one goes from sleeping on the roosts to somewhere else like the nests it means they are getting beat up on the roosts. That's a pecking order thing, a stronger chicken starts beating up on a weaker one. If your flock is just starting to lay they are changing maturity which often shakes up the pecking order.
Don't read anything into the hen pulling eggs under her. I've seen hens that are not broody do that.
Is there poop in the nest in the morning? A broody hen instinctively knows to not poop in the nest. A hen laying an egg should not poop in the nest though I've had a few with plumbing problems so they do a bit when they lay the egg. If she is pooping in the nest at night she is sleeping there, not being broody.
There are other signs that a hen might be broody. When they are off the nest they usually walk around by themselves with feathers fluffed up and making a constant puck, puck, puck sound. They are often though not always very defensive of the nest. These are just indications they might be, I've had hens do these that are not broody enough to give eggs to. Some broodes pluck feathers from their breasts to line the nest though the majority of mine do not do that. Not all broodies do these things. These are just signs they might be but they could be important signs.
I don't know what is going on with that pullet. It sounds to me like she may be sleeping in the nest, not broody at all. It's kind of hard to judge behaviors over the internet. The more details you can give us the more we are likely to help you.
I don't like to hatch eggs from pullets until they have been laying at least a month. I often don't get great hatch rates and the chicks that hatch seem to be a bit weaker, I have a higher mortality rate with them. A pullets first eggs are usually pretty small compared to what she will soon be laying and it sometimes takes her a while to get all the kinks worked out of her internal egg laying factory. Usually if she has been laying about a month those things are acceptable.
I've never hesitated to give a first time broody eggs if I want her to hatch and she shows the right signs of truly being broody. I've had just as much trouble with hens that have hatched and raised previous broods fine as with first time broodies. We all have our own experiences and opinions based on our experiences or other sources. That's a big part of why you get so many different opinions on here, we all have different opinions to draw on.
