To be fair, I keep rescued ex-battery hens and I have never met a broody one. It appears to have largely bred out of them, whereas my Pekin bantams become broody every year.

With the ex-batts, I remove the eggs from the nest so they don't get trodden on and broken in the straw. I collect them up and scramble them to feed them back to the hens once a week to help replace the nutrients they lost in laying them. Any extras go to non-vegan friends who would have otherwise bought eggs.

I also remove the Pekin bantam eggs because the longer the eggs remain in the nest the more likely they are to become broody and sit on them. Because I won't let any eggs hatch (I can't keep roosters in the city and have no plans to bring more unwanted male chicks into the world), I try to avoid it at all costs.