Broody Hen stealing eggs?

[R_Tuggle]

I have two hens (bantam EE & a Partridge Cochin) that were covering one egg each for about a week and a half. I went out to the coop to collect eggs this morning, and the EE is no longer in her nesting box, and her egg (along w/about SIX others) are now under the broody Cochin.

Can she literally move eggs 2 nesting boxes over?

I know for a fact that the hens have been laying in other places in the coop because the Cochin chose the 'favorite' of the four nesting boxes to get broody in... and now the eggs in those other spots were missing as well this morning (I'm assuming under her now).

I was fine with each of them 'trying it out' and covering a couple eggs... I don't want her stealing all of the eggs and covering them.. lol

I am thinking of marking the ones under her (as now I am unsure which ones were the original eggs) and then checking daily and removing the ones w/out the mark.

Has anyone dealt with this?

Sorry - always purchased chicks or hatched in an incubator growing up.. never let a hen go broody before

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes, stealing eggs is a real thing. They tuck them under their wings. I had 2 hens that would steal each others eggs every day.
You need to mark all the eggs they are sitting on and what hen is sitting on what. Then you can remove eggs volunteered by others and if they didn't start at the same time, move tem back under the original hen.

 

[azygous]

Yes, this is a very common issue. Broodies will steal eggs, and you would be surprised at what an animal with no front paws can do. In addition to that, the other hen will find it inviting to keep laying her eggs in the broody's nest.

If you leave it up to the hens to figure it all out, you'll end up with one hen sitting on a pile of eggs that will likely hatch over a long period, really complicating things when some chicks are ready to go outside and others are not even close to pipping.

Having a broody hatch eggs is best done with a plan in mind. I decide which hens' eggs I want to hatch, according to appearance, temperament and egg laying prowess. I save those eggs over a week's time, storing them in a cool place, then once I get a broody who is likely to sit in a nest consistently, I place those eggs under her.

If you don't have the ability to prevent the other hen from accessing the nest with incubating eggs, it's best to mark each egg so you can remove any eggs deposited later. But allowing access invites broken eggs, and it's heartbreaking when it happens with a chick close to hatching.

 

[R_Tuggle]

Yes, stealing eggs is a real thing. They tuck them under their wings. I had 2 hens that would steal each others eggs every day.

I need to install a camera in there... lol

I just went out and marked the eggs - 7 total after I pulled out the 2 wooden ones that we used to get the new ones to go to the nesting boxes...

Should I limit how much I move them? I know when we used to incubate, we would turn them daily, but didn't know if too much movement was bad. I have a feeling we're going to have to move them around and check them daily if she keeps going around and confiscating eggs for herself...

 

[R_Tuggle]

....you'll end up with one hen sitting on a pile of eggs that will likely hatch over a long period, really complicating things when some chicks are ready to go outside and others are not even close to pipping.

I think these eggs will span about 10 days... do you think that will cause a big issue? I'm clearly new to letting hens hatch chick themselves... much better at ordering and planning for day old chicks and Tractor Supply babies... lol

Edited to Add:
There will probably be 2, possibly 3 of the 7 eggs that will hatch ... the the remainder will be approx 9-10days later. Charo decided to steal the eggs yesterday, until then, she only had one or two beneath her.

 

[azygous]

The problem with a staggered hatch with a 10 day lag is the broody will likely abandon those eggs because the first chicks will be demanding care and feeding. That signals to the broody's hormones that they need to begin decreasing to set her up for a nurturing role from her original incubating role. The later eggs will have developed partway and then the embryos will die because the broody is no longer sitting on them.

When I mentioned it's best to have a plan when letting a broody sit on eggs, I tried to stress the importance of avoiding a staggered hatch. It's both a waste and a tragedy for those partially incubated eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Don't do anything other than making sure they are marked well.

I use a black majic marker and draw a ring around the entire egg so I don't have to touch it to see if it is marked. The hen will do all the turning necessary. They've mastered hatching over about a million years.

A 10 day span is a big problem. Probably after about 2 days of having live chicks, she'll likely abandon all the unhatched eggs which will kill the embryos if you don't get them into your incubator. The hen considers that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

One possible solution is to candle eggs at17-19 days and move any underdeveloped eggs to an incubator or to the hen still sitting.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I literally just went through the same exact thing. My best advice to you is just let Momma take care of it all. Mark the eggs and remove any newbies as they come. Then let her do her thing. You'll see peeps when it's time. No human interference at all. Oh...and my 6 eggs went under her in a 3 day span. They all hatched over a day and half.

 

[R_Tuggle]

The problem with a staggered hatch with a 10 day lag is the broody will likely abandon those eggs because the first chicks will be demanding care and feeding. That signals to the broody's hormones that they need to begin decreasing to set her up for a nurturing role from her original incubating role. The later eggs will have developed partway and then the embryos will die because the broody is no longer sitting on them.

When I mentioned it's best to have a plan when letting a broody sit on eggs, I tried to stress the importance of avoiding a staggered hatch. It's both a waste and a tragedy for those partially incubated eggs.

TY!
I really didn't expect the stealing to happen... they had the same couple of eggs under them for over a week... then she must have really gotten the broody bug and stole eggs yesterday. The only one I know for sure is one of the original eggs is the little blue bantam EE... the rest I'm not sure. I just went back outside and my EE is now brooding on the wooden eggs in the box where her egg was... I'm wondering if I could move the 'chicks' under her when and if the first few hatch. I'm going have to move them to their own spot away from the others when they hatch to keep them safe from the rest of the flock...

Time to do some more research.