Broody hen is confused!

[LestersFlat]

I have a hen who has been trying to hatch some eggs for the past 2 weeks—problem is, she is in one of the 2 popular nest boxes, and she sometimes switches locations from one box to another. The box she's been using for over a week is now full of eggs, probably some from today when I was at work. Should I try to coax her back to that one? She is not easy to coax into doing anything!

What do I do with those eggs that she's been sitting on? I have no idea which are the recent ones, and which have been nicely warmed for a week by her henly self. How can I tell which are the week-old versions? Are any of them safe to eat?

I know from this forum that the float test will tell me how fresh the eggs are, but is there a way to tell which ones might soon be a chick?

Sorry, last question: Is she ever going to figure this out and have babies, or should I just take the eggs when I have a chance?

 

[Happy Chooks]

You can candle them. Shine a flashlight on the egg when it's dark - look for veining, dark movements or all dark (chick ready to hatch).

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Try candling them, the two-week-old ones should be fairly dark by now. The rest should either be clear, o have some veining in them. When they start hatchin, she will only stay on them untl she thinks they are done hatching or 1-3 days after the first one hatches. Good Luck!

 

[LestersFlat]

Short of picking her up and putting her back in the other box, is there anyway to keep her on the right eggs?

 

[Happy Chooks]

You can tell her "stay", but I doubt it will work.

No, there is no other way short of moving her to a confined space where she can't move boxes.