20 eggs in the clutch....what do I do?

[song of joy]

Collect the eggs daily. If a hen goes broody, then start collecting and storing hatching eggs for her. After you've accumulated enough hatching eggs, give her all the eggs at the same time. Give a hen no more than a dozen eggs of the size she lays. Less is preferable. I usually set anywhere from 6 to 10 eggs under a broody hen.

 

[Lilyput]

Can I put fertile eggs under a broody chicken? Will she sit on them? she's sitting on everyone else's eggs. I have no rooster. If I buy some fertile eggs and put her in a crate with them, will she take care of them. I believe she is sterile as I have never had an egg from her although she often goes broody. she is a lace wyandotte about three years old.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Chickens generally go broody on a location, not on specific eggs or time frames. SO while you absolutely can put fertile eggs under her and expect them to hatch and her to care for the chicks (and many, many people do, it's as easy as waiting for nightfall and placing the fertile eggs underneath the hen while she is asleep), you likely will find yourself unable to move her to a new location until after the eggs have hatched. If you do move her, she may very well break her broodiness and no longer be willing to set on eggs.

 

[Mooliejones]

I'm still waiting for mine to go broody. I now have 2 lace wyandottes to add to my other 3 and hear that they do go broody regularly so fingers crossed!! My rooster is very interested in the new girls and seems to have gone to heaven with 4 hens to keep him happy ha ha. How would you know if any of the eggs I get (mostly 4 each day) are fertile and worth putting under a hen if/when they go broody?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

A good sign is just if he is breeding all his hens. There's no way to say if they are fertile until they start to incubate, so just see if he's doing his job. If he's breeding each hen once every day or so they're likely fertile.