And is there anything I may be doing to encourage it?
Do you have nesting material in the cage
She LOVES to strip paper, I mean she just LOVES IT! So I usually let her do that when she's out of her cage
Paper = nesting material. Your hen is shredding it to make her nest.
Take all paper away from her. Provide other toys. Because she will not be happy with no paper, you will need to provide a nice selection so that she has things to try and see what she likes. Popsicle stick toys are a hit with my hens, but your hen might like something different.
No paper, no cardboard, no seagrass for now. Opt for toys like:
Have you tried toys made with craft sticks, yucca, balsa, thin slats of pine, wooden beads and foraging toys
Bells, little cat ball toys, swings, plastic colourful toys etc
Foraging is a great option, especially activities that don´t include shreddables, food cages, skewers,
If you aren´t sure how to provide a foraging activity for you bird, have a read of this pdf. You may be surprised at just how easy it is and you don´t have to always spend a fortune on expensive toys...
forums.avianavenue.com
Later down the line maybe you could give her a shreddable once every now and then as a treat, but to have them available all the time is allowing your hen to try to nest all the time.
For now, stick to non shreddables so you can figure out what she likes.
As for the cage aggression, working with her by the cage as recommended by
@Monica is a great idea.
To clean the cage, simply let her out to fly whilst you do it. I cannot put my hand in any of my girls cages, so I clean while they are out flying and having fun.
