A broody hen does not get on the nest for an hour and leave. She zonks out on the nest, getting up maybe once or twice a day to eat, drink, and poop. The rest of the time she is on the nest. The way I tell if a hen is serious about going broody is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her regular spot. They can sometimes act broody but it’s just an act unless they are spending practically all day and every night on the nest.
A pullet getting ready to lay starts looking for a safe place to use as a nest. Her spending time in the nest is a good sign she will probably start laying soon. Any chicken can sometimes do strange things, at least strange to us, but when they are maturing and getting ready to lay hormones kick in. Those pullets can really do some weird stuff. Though to be honest what you describe doesn’t sound all that strange to me.
Yes, leave her alone. The more I interfere the more problems I cause. It’s not just the risk of her becoming egg bound. She may decide the nest isn’t a safe place to lay after all and start laying where you don’t want her to.
When you are seeing it for the first time some of this stuff can cause worry. But after a whole you realize chicken TV can often beat anything on cable or satellite. Never be afraid to ask a question on this forum, if you are not sure of something you’d be silly not to ask. But this is more chicken TV stuff, not a cause for worry.
