Why is my hen in the nest so long?

[Hoonta]

So I have a hen, to be honest I don't know what kind but she is always the last one in the nest and she takes so long I have caught her in the nest from 5pm to 8pm but all of my other hens lay in that same nest.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Maybe she's broody?

 

[1 acre willows]

I have a couple that'll sit in there a couple or three hours..... then others that are in and out..... If she isn't trying to gather other eggs under her or flatten out and she does it all the time (i.e. not new behavior), I'd probably just tell ya that that's just her.

 

[ozzy chooks]

One of my hens takes a long time to lay an egg compared to the others. Very often it is around or more than 2 hours. So I guess it's not uncommon, but at the beginning I was worried because another one of mine takes around 10 minutes.
Just make sure yours is not broody, but if she is she would spend almost all day on eggs and stop laying.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

Mine is fairly new to laying and she sits in the nesting box for about 2 to 3 hours.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I have three 27 month olds. When in their first year would spend around 35 minutes in the nest. Now it's like an hour. Maybe they just understand the signs that an egg is on the way and head to the nest earlier and relax a little bit before laying. I don't know! GC

 

[aart]

How many birds and how many nests?
My guess is that she is low bird in the pecking order and has to wait.
Does she sleep in the nest or lay then go to roost?