How many eggs does my chicken need to lay until she starts sitting?

isaiskool

Hatching
12 Years
Jan 24, 2008
3
0
7
My chicken has layed 20 eggs so far and is still not sitting, does anyone know why she isn't sitting, or how many eggs she needs to lay until she starts sitting? thank you!
 
Hens will not set or go broody just because they have eggs under them......she has to want to hatch a clutch of eggs...doesn't matter if she has 50 under her...its hormonal...a clock inside her telling her to set...

Might not even be a breed thats know for setting...
 
ok thank you, i am not sure what kind of chicken she is, ummm what type of chicken lays blue eggs? i dont know sorry. Thanks for your help! Also she laid an egg on the ground today instead of with the oher eggs in the nesting box, does this mean something?
 
Yup, means she wants you to get those eggs out of the nest...!!...she's told you she is not broody!!...

Sorry I couldn't resist!!...
jumpy.gif
 
So should I just remove all of the eggs she has laid so far? Will this make her more broody? Or what will make her want to sit on the eggs?
 
Some hens will never go broody, others will many times each year. Your chicken is -most- likely to go broody in spring/summer, but it is an unpredictable thing. She may go broody once in her whole life, or never at all.

For now, go ahead and collect the eggs. Check to make sure that they aren't too old, by putting them in a pitcher of water. If they stay on the bottom, they are still good. If they float off the bottom, throw them away. Just use them for food right now, and collect new ones as she lays them too.

In spring, start paying attention to what your hen is doing. If she stays in the nest, puffs up her feathers, and/or clucks and tries to peck you....those are signs that she is getting broody and ready to sit on a clutch of eggs. At that time, you leave the eggs in.

Until then, there is nothing you can do to -make- her broody. Its an instinctive, hormonal thing.

If she's laying blue/green eggs, she's probably the type of chicken called an Easter Egger (because of the colourful eggs).
 

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