Nest sharing

[Rstine]

Ok, I ve got a Silkie that started sitting. Soon after, a dog got in the henhouse and ate her eggs. The next day she laid another egg and started sitting. I gave her an Americauna egg to go with hers and she readily accepted it. She goes out to eat first thing in the morning then it's right back to the nest. Well, about 2 weeks went by and one day I noticed that there were 5 eggs in the nest. Today I noticed our barred rock in her nest when she went out to feed and sure enough, now 6 eggs in the nest. What happens when her original 2 hatch? Do I remove chicks and let her keep sitting? I like to let my broodies raise their own, but she cant if she has a few more weeks with eggs. Will she just be a hatching machine all summer? This is new to me. Thanks.

 

[sourland]

Staggered hatches are a disaster, and it is a good idea to keep other hens away from a setting hens nest site. Broody hens frequently become debilitated if allowed to set too long.

 

[MGG]

I would try to candle and determine what eggs are further along. Mark the 2 with sharpie or some mark that won't come off. Remove the other eggs. I would cull them. If you don't you may lose your other chicks or your hen from the strain put on her. Let her hatch the other 2 eggs and put her somewhere where other hens can't get to her. Good luck, hope they hatch!

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I can second what others have said. When hens lay in the same box or next to each other in an open nest the setting hen will constantly be rolling good eggs out of her nest and fresh eggs in. It makes for a mess.

What I've done in the past was nightly check the setting hen and remove new eggs both from under her and from around her. So long as you've marked the original eggs she set, you can tell new from old. Or if its a small coop as with some of my Old English Game bantams and where I have 2 coops I can shuffle them around in, I'll sometimes move them. I actually did that tonight. I have a brood coop for one of jungle fowl crosses I'm mating to 2 particular OEGB hens. One of those hens started setting today so I removed the other hen back to the main OEGB coop just so she isn't tempted to keep adding eggs.

It also helps to have several nest boxes all spread apart and ceramic eggs to lure hens into laying other boxes than the box your setting hen is using.

 

[Rstine]

Thanks for the advice. I free range, so whenever hens have set they were far away from others. This is the first time one has ever set in the henhouse. I will try to identify the original eggs. My backyard chicken friends always steer me right, thanks again.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Ok, I ve got a Silkie that started sitting. Soon after, a dog got in the henhouse and ate her eggs. The next day she laid another egg and started sitting. I gave her an Americauna egg to go with hers and she readily accepted it. She goes out to eat first thing in the morning then it's right back to the nest. Well, about 2 weeks went by and one day I noticed that there were 5 eggs in the nest. Today I noticed our barred rock in her nest when she went out to feed and sure enough, now 6 eggs in the nest. What happens when her original 2 hatch? Do I remove chicks and let her keep sitting? I like to let my broodies raise their own, but she cant if she has a few more weeks with eggs. Will she just be a hatching machine all summer? This is new to me. Thanks.

Why don’t you just take the barred rocks eggs out from underneath her?