Broody hen and missing eggs

[SRC87]

Help!

I have 2 broody hens and yesterday I had 13 eggs under them. They have been sitting on these eggs for a week. I candled them all yesterday and they looked great.

I went out this evening to check on them and the two hens had switched best boxes and there are a number of eggs totally gone (unsure how many yet) and it looks like there was yolk stuck to a few of the eggs under one of the hens but I see no shells or anything!!

Could the hens have eaten the eggs? I’m upset because there were certainly viable chicks started when I candeled last night.

Could I have disturbed them too much? I’ve hatched before and this didn’t happen with them.

Thanks for any insight!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's best to move broody hens to a separate area, or at least to somewhere protected. It's unfortunately normal for other hens to break and eat their eggs if they are setting in the general population. Could be they lay theirs on top which cracks eggs, which gets eaten. I have seen other hens go after floor nests the minute the hen got up.

 

[Logan123]

I'm new raising chicken. How long does brooding last? I checked the nest and didn't have one egg. This the third day. What I'm I doing wrong?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm new raising chicken. How long does brooding last? I checked the nest and didn't have one egg. This the third day. What I'm I doing wrong?

When a hen goes broody she stops laying eggs. They lay a clutch worth of eggs, than they begin the brooding process. If the the eggs are removed as they are laid the hen will continue on as if there are eggs. You will need to save eggs as they are laid or give her fertile eggs.

A broody hen will sit for months on end on nothing. Being broody is a hormonal state that doesn't necessarily mean the hen is thinking chicks is the outcome. Some do and some don't.

So either give her eggs, or break her, she will not lay anymore while broody.