Strange/normal chicken behaviors!?

Souperchicken

Songster
11 Years
Jan 18, 2009
299
9
131
USA- Southwest
We just got a new rooster for our hens. Today I noticed one of my hens found a spot near our house that she thought was a good place to start making a nest. She and the new rooster(Goliath) started acting strangely. She bedded down and started pulling out her feathers and he was watching her and within inches of her face the whole time. They were both clucking and "growling". For at least a hour. Then it looked like he was trying to snuggle with her and at one point worked his way completely under her so she was sitting on top of him. Later after she had laid an egg he went back and sat on the nest. He kept going back to the nest and making clucking and "growling' noises. I think he was trying to lure my other hens to lay there. Is this normal rooster behavior?
Normally my hen lays eggs in her coop. This is the first time I've had any of them lay elsewhere. Does this mean she might be going broody?? Is it more likely she will go broody since she is making a nest? Can I put a few eggs in to speed up the process or will this upset the nesting? If I should put eggs in does it need to be when they aren't watching, or does it not matter? I'm relatively new at raising chickens, but have sure learned a lot from reading this forum. Any good info or advice is welcome.
 
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Interesting. What breed of chicken, hen and roo do you have ?

Some roos are extremely protective of their hens and will present with a behaviour that seems odd to some.

Jungle fowl are notorious for this and the MAMA hens are VERY protective of nests, young and mates.
 
The rooster is a Buff Orpington and the hen is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. Here is a picture I took of them today. They are making their nest under the chairs that are stacked next to the house in the picture.
Goliath.jpg
 

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