Broody hen?

[TammyC57]

I have another question.. Is it possible for a hen to lay an egg the day after she hatched chicks? I'm wondering now if she was ever really broody or just decided to be a mother.. lol. She's separated from the other hens for now, just hatched a chick yesterday. Today I found an egg just outside her nesting box. She had 2 she was sitting on & I'm not sure if the other egg is still in the box or not.. The eggs were marked, this one was not marked & candling it showed nothing in there. (it also sank in a bowl of water, I would assume it would float if it had been the one she was sitting on?) Now I'm wondering if she was ever really broody.. she didn't act like it, except that she stayed in the nesting box for the majority of the 21 days. She was very tolerant of me & the other hens. I would say she was, in fact, very sweet. Can a hen decide to set on eggs without being broody?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some hens will take chicks without broody, but a hen won't set on eggs unless she is broody. I would assume the egg came from another hen.

 

[sourland]

If she set for 21 days and hatched that chick, she was indeed broody. Due to hormonal changes during broodiness, setting hens do not lay eggs. To do so would be contrary to incubation as such chicks would not be brooded long enough to hatch.

 

[carlf]

The question is not if she is broody its if she layed the eggs or not. If she set and now there is a chick she was broody. Pick her up and look to see if there are more eggs or chicks under her.

 

[TammyC57]

Thanks guys! Mystery solved... My fiancé had lifted the top of her box & informed me much later "that there may have been an egg on top that rolled into her space" lol... Yes, I'm sure that's what happened. As for the other egg that was in there? It's gone. No chick, no egg. I think she may have eaten it. She has 1 healthy chick that she's quite protective of..

 

[carlf]

Cool. Put some chick feed in your hand and put it front of her, she should call the peep over to feed. Make sure there is water the peep can get too. She will show it how to drink too.
Next time she goes broody, gather eggs for 3 days from all your hens. Broody hens don't care if the eggs are hers or not they just want to set eggs. store eggs at room temp, don't wash. Put them all under her on day 3 or 4 and she will set the whole batch. Mark the eggs with a pencil so you know if an "extra" gets pulled in to the nest.