Hello everybody! I've not been on lately with keeping up with the small boys, but my flock has been doing great. We finally culled our WCBP rooster last Wednesday night after nine months of everybody telling us to. This morning I found my Barred Rock in my cat's house. She did not come when called and did not come for treats, which I broke out early today because I had noticed her missing in the head count. She *never* skips out on treats, even if it's just scratch.
This what I just found after noticing her out eating and drinking. Those are obviously not all her eggs. So, should I just leave and see what happens? The cat has no predatory behavior towards the chickens, didn't even when they were chicks and ducklings. I can cordon off the area around the box and put food and water inside of it come hatch time to help protect them if need be. Is this common for multiple chickens to lay in a place other than their coop, and then have one of them adopt the broody role and hatch them all out? Also, is that too many eggs for her? Should I remove some, or just leave everything alone and see what 'shakes out?' She would be a first time mom and none of the other chickens have ever hatched any either, if that bears any significance. Thank you in advance for any input.