Sounds to me like she's doing exactly what broody's do.. trying to hatch some eggs.
okay so I assumed it was her egg because in the morning she's always sitting on just one egg. We have a hen that just hatched chicks a month ago and she had 12 under her when she was sitting on them, this one doesn't seem to get any more eggs just always sitting on nothing or one. Should I leave the eggs the others lay today and see if she sits on them? It just seems odd that she's incubating 1 egg at a time.Sounds to me like she's doing exactly what broody's do.. trying to hatch some eggs.
They usually snap out of when the chicks hatch... Does she have chicks or not?
If you aren't giving her chicks.. she won't just snap out of it and you will likely need to take action to break her hormones.
The only way she's doing anything wrong is IF she has chicks now and isn't tending them. A broody hen will sit tight on her nest for almost the whole day and night. They only leave once or twice per day to relieve themselves without mucking up the eggs their brooding. They usually grab a quick bite to eat and maybe a quick dirt bath.. depending on weather.
A sitting broody's job is simple.. sit on the eggs, adjust them occasionally, keep them warm, and protect them from predators.
How long has she been doing this?
A broody hen does NOT continue to lay eggs.. suspect any eggs deposited are from other layers.
Hope this helps!
Chickens don't count to well.
) get to fulfill their natural roles but still maintain an appropriate stock load to keep antics, poo, parasites, crowding, etc to a minimum or down to very manageable levels according to the pasture I like to keep, which will vary for everyone depending on their soil type, energy level, property size, weather pattern, goals, resources, and even individual flock dynamics.
So, every morning, she's on an egg, which is why I sssumed it's her own. If I leave her there, she's still on that 1 egg, but if I make her get up and then check on her later in the box, she's on a few more. The most I've seen her on is 4 or 5 so I guess I could just leave her and see what happens. It's fine if she wants to hatch them, I can give away others or keep some. I'm still collecting the other eggs in the other boxes.Chickens don't count to well.
Broodiness is a hormone driven need to sit. For some gals they will want to sit every 3rd egg ish.. even if eggs are collected every single day and nothing is left inside the box and they are booted out. Those ones will brood their life away on no eggs... in my experience even after you let them sit on and raise a clutch.
If I do want a hen to hatch a clutch.. I mark all the eggs to be left in the nest with sharpie and collect any new deposits every EVENING at lock down. Eggs should also not be laid at night.. so I would suspect your single egg is deposited earlier in the day. BUT... YOUR gal could be an anomaly.. I've seen roosters egg sing, hens grow spurs and even crow! So sometimes there are exceptions. Noting that some of ladies have started sitting and still had an egg or two finishing their trek out.
They usually do not start sitting until laying their last egg of the clutch as it starts development and would make some chicks hatch earlier than others. Staggered hatch is a recipe for disaster in nature.. as there is a window within the which the sitting hen has to decide take the early hatchers in search of food and water and leave the still developing eggs. Or stay on the eggs and hatched chicks might starve or dehydrate. The yolk sustains them for a period before it becomes an issue. But ultimately later hatchers are weaker, have a harder time keeping up as they're behind developmentally compared to others in the same clutch. Again in nature, survival of the fittest a recipe for death. This is just informational for descriptive reasoning of what's going on. Now that sitting hen doesn't mind letting others add to her clutch. She may not have a choice if she's lower in the pecking order in home set ups. Some will consider new depositors as an opportunity have their nest tended while the go run errands (eat, poo, etc). The better sitters make it back to the right nest instead of nest hopping.
Weather you break her or not depends on if you have room (or plans) for more chicks and eventual cockerels. If it isn't convenient for me and the rest of the flock then I might break her this time and plan to let her raise a clutch next time... alternating between hens so they both (or all, I've had broody's coming out my ears before like it's contagious and no longer keep Silkies for that reason.
Sometimes I adopt sexed feed store chicks to a hen (after sitting a couple weeks) if they have some under a week old in another breed I'd like to try. I personally always break them if they're pullets as their bodies and minds are still maturing and I figure if they're broody now they will again. But that just MY preference!
Okay so let me see if actually have this right, now that I've read your post again.. Are you leaving the egg that you see in the morning.. and it's the same egg that she's sitting on that has NOT been collected.. or is it a NEW egg after you collected the one you found her sitting on in the morning? Sorry!
If you want her sit on a clutch of eggs.. collect them and tuck them under her all on the same day.. (why I told the staggered hatch story) I might be distracted right now, check back on ya in bit.
