Broody questions....

[psimons2004]

I finally have my first broody hen - YAY!!!! I am so excited!!! Here's the thing - I have no idea what I'm doing.
she's has sat on them for two days now without moving off them at all so I am confident that she will do this.
It's been cold and no one wants to go outside anyway... We however, would still like to eat some eggs and everytime
someone lays an egg she hoards it and adds it to her little nest. I haven't seen this happen, but the number under her keeps growing.
Maybe she moves just long enough for someone else to use the nest. Could I maybe mark these origional eggs and then steal the new ones...
I don't want to upset her and cause her to leave the nest...

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
I've had this happen. You can mark the eggs, then remove the additions. I once let it continue and pulled the chicks each day as they hatched, then put them inside in a brooder. That poor hen hatched eggs for 5 weeks and I pulled 26 chicks from her the last two weeks of her sitting.
If you don't pull the chicks, she will get off the nest after 2 or 3 days of chicks under her leaving the rest of the eggs to rot.

 

[psimons2004]

ohhh - good experience story.. I don't want that - I'll try and pull the additions starting today! Thanks so much!!!!