The nest on the left is occupied by Gertrude. She is at the top of the pecking order and is one of the first batch of chicks we got back in 2012 when we became first-time chicken owners. On the middle nest is Goldie. We got her, along with 3 other chicks, last year. One of the Rhode Island Red hens which we got from a friend in 2014 is on the last nest. I honestly cannot tell the RIRs apart, except for one who has a different kind of comb. This is not her. So, I'm not sure which one this is.
So, now for the drama. Gertrude apparently was not satisfied with her nest and decided to check out the other nests to see if she could find one better to her liking.
Notice that there is already an egg in Goldie's nest. Now, just because the egg is there does not mean she laid it. It could very well have been laid by someone else earlier in the day. Perhaps it was the egg that made the middle nest look more attractive to Gertrude, but for whatever reason, she decided this was the nest she wanted to use.
She sat on the edge of the nest for a little while, perhaps to give Goldie a chance to leave peacefully. However, when Goldie showed no sign of vacating, Gertrude began to edge her way in anyway.
Gertrude carefully lowered herself on the egg and settled down. Whether or not she laid an egg of her own, I have no idea. Hens will sometimes sit for long periods of time on a nest and never lay an egg. It is like the nest is their place to go meditate. If they lay an egg while meditating, then all the better.
I didn't have time to stick around to see what Goldie decided to do. She may have given up for the day or have come back later and tried again. At any rate, I found this bit of drama to be quite entertaining. Chicken interaction can be quite interesting!
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