15 Baby Chicks From One Hen!!

[Dawna]

One of my Buff Orpington Hens disappeared about a month ago. I thought a predator had gotten her. Last Sunday she showed up with 15 baby chicks!! How can she lay at least 15 eggs and they all hatch at about the same time when she was laying one egg a day?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

if she has been missing for a month and it takes 21 days to hatch, the most she could of laid in that time frame is 9 eggs. she had help. congrats !!!

 

[donrae]

Here's how it works.....a chicken lays an egg say every day or so, occasionally taking a day off. She lays them in the same place each time, and the eggs just sit there, dormant so to speak. Then, once the hormones in her brain trigger, she starts setting on the eggs, all of them, and they all start developing onto embryos at the same time. They all hatch within about 48 hours of each other.

So, she was just laying her eggs there before she disappeared, that's all.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Adding my two cents to support the above statement.

Eggs sit in stasis until they are exposed to the proper conditions for incubation. A hen lays in the same place every day, sometimes with help from her flockmates, until someone gets the urge to sit on those eggs and try to hatch them. Once the hen plants herself on that clutch of eggs and they warm up to the right temperature, those eggs start to develop. Doesn't matter if they were laid that day or a week ago, they all begin growing at the same time.

Congratulations on the happy surprise!

 

[Kadjain]

if she has been missing for a month and it takes 21 days to hatch, the most she could of laid in that time frame is 9 eggs. she had help. congrats !!!

She probably started laying them there before she went missing

 

[ChickenCrazay]

wow impressive,I have no explanation for this, but I kinda wish I had her. Congrats!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

One of two things happened -
1 - she was sneaking off before you noticed her absence and starting to accumulate her clutch by laying and then returning to the flock/coop - only disappearing when she was ready to be serious about it/start setting - thus having time to lay 15 eggs but only be gone for a month. The eggs don't start to develop until she starts setting so they were able to sit in stasis until she was ready - and can stay that way long enough for her to have gotten to 15 (or more since no idea how many may not have hatched)
2- she started laying, someone else noticed and started laying in her nest too, and she then started setting the nest - thus having more than one egg added to the clutch on some days due to the "help" of another hen.

 

[sepaditty1]

Lucky!