Crazy hen or what?

[Saxyguy]

We have three hens and a rooster. He's an RIR, from what I've been told. The hens are Domanekkers (sp?). One hen has started to sit in a nest box for a lot of the day. No problem, except there are 8 eggs in the box NEXT to her. She started sitting on one box all the time, again, not on any eggs, so one night I moved the eggs to the box she was sitting on, after she left it, at my approach. So, now she's moved to, yet, another box with no eggs.
What's going on and what can I do about it?

Thanks for any info.

Charlie

 

[gryeyes]

Sounds like she's going broody... Does she stay in the nest at night, instead of roosting? If she isn't staying in the nest at night, too, she's not broody yet.

Is she the rooster's favorite? Has he ridden her bare-backed?

Now, why are all those eggs in the nests?!? You have 3 hens and 8 eggs are in the nest next to her? What's up with that? Leaving eggs ungathered DOES NOT "make" a hen go broody.

One must wait until a hen is broody and then let her keep whatever eggs you want to let her hatch, or offer her eggs to hatch, or continue to gather eggs so she never hatches anything.

Broody hens can and have brooded on air when they didn't have eggs to incubate. Some have tried to hatch ceramic eggs, or golf balls, and in one case, a small Tupperware container.