Broody Chickens or not..

[Lerette Hens]

I have a Buff orp that is laying eggs under my front steps.. She is letting other hens lay in her nest but none of them are staying on them.. They are laying the eggs and leaving.. Right now there are 8 eggs over a period of 5 days.. Is one of the hens going to ever lay on them or are the eggs going to go to waste?? Also I have a Whydotte laying a nest in a bush beside their chicken coop. There are 8 eggs in this nest also. 2 days ago there was a chicken snake trying to eat one of the eggs.. I STOPED that from happening so all the eggs are still there. The next day she was sitting on her eggs but only for 2 hours. She has not been back to her nest in two days.. Can any one help me with this I dont know what theyare doing or what this means.. Thank You!!

 

[gryeyes]

A lot of people think every hen will naturally set on her eggs and hatch chicks. The opposite is true: most hatchery chicks are ifrom stock specifically bred for egg production. Broodiness has been bred out of so many breeds one can buy at feed stores.

Leaving eggs in the nest in hopes of a hen sitting on them to incubate them is a surefire way to waste some eggs. I'd wait until you have a hen actually display broody behavior before you stop gathering eggs.

My personal method of determining if a hen is really broody is if she stays on the nest two days and two nights. (Except for her daily constitutional to poop, eat, drink, maybe get in a dustbath.)

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

I've actually had hens collect eggs like yours and go broody on them, but it really depends on the hen. Some are just more prone to broodiness than others. I've had a hen go broody on 3 eggs she found in the nest box and I've found nest outside the coop with up to 18 eggs in them with not a single hen interested... If you want to try this method leave some eggs in the nest, but mark them so you can tell which are "bait" and which are fresh, collect the fresh eggs and wait and see what your hens do. But don't waste too many eggs and don't get your hopes up to high. It's by no means a guaranteed method, unfortunately.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Lerette Hens, and

! Great to have you aboard!!

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

Greyes gave you good advice. Hens do not go broody just because there are eggs in the nest. My last broody was a silkie that went broody in a cop where none of the hens was laying, including her.

 

[drumstick diva]

this is the place to find your answers

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[Lerette Hens]

Well since I have posted last my hen has laid three more eggs and is sitting on them more every day.. Thanks for the advise and thanks for welcoming me to back yard chickens..