Broody hen taking eggs

[Claire_]

I have a broody hen she's been broody for a few days now, I've noticed eggs go missing and once I checked under her she had about 20. I only let her have 9, how many should I take away, she's not very large but seemed to fit quite a few eggs under her, I think she'll just keep taking eggs what can I do about this

 

[Lollychicken]

If possible, move her away from the other hens. Give her the eggs you want her to hatch

 

[Claire_]

If possible, move her away from the other hens. Give her the eggs you want her to hatch

I only have one more separate area and it's a very large dog kennel (it fit two xxl dogs together) so very big the only problem is that I have two rescue roosters in there atm, they are both wounded and cannot be moved so I'm unable to move her unfortunately

 

[Claire_]

If possible, move her away from the other hens. Give her the eggs you want her to hatch

I took all the eggs I didn't mark and when I cracked them one had an embryo so must have forgot to mark that one I feel terrible it was only small so I don't know if it could feel pain at that stage but I still feel so bad I'm crying

 

[Sussex19]

I took all the eggs I didn't mark and when I cracked them one had an embryo so must have forgot to mark that one I feel terrible it was only small so I don't know if it could feel pain at that stage but I still feel so bad I'm crying

I have done that before, and it made me feel very bad too.
We all make mistake, because we are human.
Just mark the eggs that you want her to keep, and remove the others once or more a day.

 

[Claire_]

I have done that before, and it made me feel very bad too.
We all make mistake, because we are human.
Just mark the eggs that you want her to keep, and remove the others once or more a day.

Ok thank you, I have marked them all now and made sure there's no more unmarked eggs, do u know if she will continue laying eggs to sit on or stop laying?

 

[Sussex19]

Ok thank you, I have marked them all now and made sure there's no more unmarked eggs, do u know if she will continue laying eggs to sit on or stop laying?

She will stop laying as soon as she is properly sitting.
Mine have sometimes laid maybe up to three more eggs after they appear to be sitting, but haven't quite gone into full broody mode yet.
This won't stop the other hens from laying more in the nest though, so make sure to check it at least daily.

 

[Perris]

Ok thank you, I have marked them all now and made sure there's no more unmarked eggs, do u know if she will continue laying eggs to sit on or stop laying?

you might find this article useful, and it has a link at the end to a huge thread on the topic
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks.65989/

 

[Chicken poppy]

I have a broody hen she's been broody for a few days now, I've noticed eggs go missing and once I checked under her she had about 20. I only let her have 9, how many should I take away, she's not very large but seemed to fit quite a few eggs under her, I think she'll just keep taking eggs what can I do about this

I separate my broody hens for multiple reasons. Other hens also lay in the spot they go broody so it disturbs them. Also the egg issue your having.

It depends how many chicks you want. With 9 eggs you will probably end up with 6 chickens.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Ok thank you, I have marked them all now and made sure there's no more unmarked eggs, do u know if she will continue laying eggs to sit on or stop laying?

Broody hens will not lay. She will stop for a while. Mine only started to lay again once her chicks got old enough (maybe 6 weeks or so? Can’t quite remember.)