Broody hen getting up to let other hens lay eggs???

[miss_thenorth]

Hi All, I have a broody hen who has been sitting for about 4 days now. She is an OEG mix, who I obtained from a lady who didn't care for them. I have only had her for a couple of months and she is still pretty wild.

She has teased me with being broody before, but this time she really is. the first time I saw her get up from the nest to get food and water, she was sitting on 5 eggs. I stuck one more under her, making the count 6. Yesterday I went in and she was sitting on the perch just outside of the nesting box she has claimed, and one of my sexlinks was in there and laid an egg. When she got up, I counted 9 eggs. Today, another hen got her out of there to lay an egg. I didn't have time to stick around to see the egg count, but I'm assuming it is now more than 9.

I am going to move her tonight to an area where others can't get in, but that still leaves me with tthe question of incubation.

She has been sitting for 4 days, with several eggs being laid there after that date, therefore having different hatch dates.

Will she know instictively to continue to set on them until they are hatched? Or are these eggs that have been laid after the initial broody day going to be wasted.

this is my first time with a broody hen.

And--do you want to hear irony? these eggs will hatch approximately the same day that I am getting my 26 broiler chicks. Perfect ttiming!!!

Thanks for any advice you can throw my way.

 

[MissPrissy]

You need to move her to a place where the other hens can't get to her nest. They will continue to lay in her box as long as they can get to it. Once the broody in her breaks and she gets up you will have eggs in all state of incubation and embryos developing at different rates that will most likely die. She will not sit until every single eggs hatches.

Move her now and don't let any more eggs into that nest and hope she sits through the incubation of them all.