Sitting in nest but not laying

[tone3822]

I have a Barred Rock who will sit in the nest for about an hour a day but does not lay an egg. There are ceramic eggs in the nest because I have another hen that won't lay in the nest without them. This has been going on for about 2 weeks. I live in Florida so she has been laying previously.

She is around a year old.

 

[ShoreRoad]

If she is laying on the ceramic eggs it is possible she is becoming broody.
One other option is inserting a gloved finger into her vest to check if she has an egg stuck.
Is she acting fine otherwise? Eating drinking running around?

 

[KarateHorse]

She's broody this means she wants to hatch eggs and be a mother. If you have a rooster you can give her some eggs to sit on and hatch but if you don't have a rooster the eggs won't hatch.

 

[ShoreRoad]

I have a Barred Rock who will sit in the nest for about an hour a day but does not lay an egg. There are ceramic eggs in the nest because I have another hen that won't lay in the nest without them. This has been going on for about 2 weeks. I live in Florida so she has been laying previously.

She is around a year old.

I would try taking the ceramic eggs out for a while. I know this may throw off the other hen that will only lay with the ceramics in place, but given some time she may catch on that she needs to lay in the nest. My chickens have three nesting boxes and prefer the one furthest from the window. I have heard they prefer to have a dark place to lay. So adjusting the position or lighting of your nesting boxes may be the fix. I've never used the fake eggs, but have heard that they may encourage chickens to become broody, Hope it works out!

 

[tone3822]

Yes she's acting totally fine. One thing I did notice is she makes a lot of noise if other hens are in the nesting box Laying.

She makes very loud honking noises.

 

[ShoreRoad]

Odds are she is broody. Try taking the ceramic eggs out and removing any eggs that are laid as soon as possible.
(Or get some chicks for her to take care of)

 

[tone3822]

If I get chicks would I have to separate her and the chicks? Would they be fine with the other hens?

 

[snow5164]

I too would remove the ceramic eggs or place them on the edge of the box so she can't lay on them. I have removed mine for the same reason, now I wear gloves and check under the hens and remove eggs,a few times a day , they come out pretty quietly then .

Don't get chicks because she's broody it's not hard to break them.

 

[aart]

I would not worry about it....I certainly would not be doing an internal digital exam, unless there was serious other physical symptoms.
Look at abdomen and vent for any abnormalities to eliminate or confirm a possible illness.

I have several birds that spend time in the nest without laying.
Was she molting over the winter?
She may be getting ready to start laying again....or she may be thinking about broodiness.
Spring has sprung, hormones are flowing.......chicken behavior can be fickle.

An hour a day is nothing...some birds just like to lounge in the nest.
I don't call broody until they stay on the nest all day and all night for 3 days in a row....
.....and they are squawking/screaming/biting, flaring...when they are not spread out flat as a pancake in a trance.