broody hen questions ya'll!

[cackleberryhead]

I have a broody hen that has been in that state for four days so we immediately put some girls with the boys and now have 16 fertilized eggs under Miss Broody. 1. How many is too many and 2. Should I move her and the eggs out of the laying boxes in the henhouse where another 80 hens deposit daily eggs?

Thanks for any feedback.

Hopeful this go round. Cause I'm not a good chick mom, I think my first time home made incubator is going to be a FAiL.

 

[redhen689]

It depends on the size of the hen, and the size of the eggs. She should be able to cover them all comfortably.

If you keep her with the other hens, they will lay eggs in the box with her, so you need to mark the eggs under her so you know which are which and can remove the freshly laid eggs.

Most broody hens don't take kindly to being moved. You can try, and it might work, but she might put up a hissy fit and refuse to sit on the eggs in a new location.