For the past couple of weeks every time I went to collect eggs, I had a couple of my Leghorns who seemed to like to hang out in the nestboxes. Every time I would reach in they would run off cackling to beat the band.......BUT, today I was out checking the boxes, and cleaning them out and one girl came back to the boxes, about 2 feet from me, and climbed in. I decided to try to reach in, to see what she would do, and she puffed up and tried to peck me!!!
I was excited, and confused, and concerned. Should I try to let her set? Should I separate her? Would I be sacrificing 5 eggs for no reason?
So, we took the 5 eggs laid this morning and marked them with a crayon, and took them back outside to put in the box. Well, she was gone, so we waited to see if she would come back....(I have 14 White leghorns, so telling them apart is HARD!) After a few minutes she came back and sat down and put out her wings to pull up all the eggs closer. So we pulled her out (after pecking DH several times) and put a zip-tie on her leg to keep track.
When we came home this afternoon, there were 4 more eggs in that box, so I went to take them out. She was by the gate to the pen, but when she saw where I was going she came right over to see what I was doing. I'm going to keep an eye on her for the next 3 weeks
and see what pops out!
Now, questions:
I know they can let eggs go dormant before incubating them, how long is that usually?
Will she sit on the 5 I designated as sacrificial eggs, even though I remove the extras daily?
Should I separate her immediately?
Is the incubation time 21 exactly, or roughly 20 -22?
I was excited, and confused, and concerned. Should I try to let her set? Should I separate her? Would I be sacrificing 5 eggs for no reason?
So, we took the 5 eggs laid this morning and marked them with a crayon, and took them back outside to put in the box. Well, she was gone, so we waited to see if she would come back....(I have 14 White leghorns, so telling them apart is HARD!) After a few minutes she came back and sat down and put out her wings to pull up all the eggs closer. So we pulled her out (after pecking DH several times) and put a zip-tie on her leg to keep track.
When we came home this afternoon, there were 4 more eggs in that box, so I went to take them out. She was by the gate to the pen, but when she saw where I was going she came right over to see what I was doing. I'm going to keep an eye on her for the next 3 weeks
Now, questions:
I know they can let eggs go dormant before incubating them, how long is that usually?
Will she sit on the 5 I designated as sacrificial eggs, even though I remove the extras daily?
Should I separate her immediately?
Is the incubation time 21 exactly, or roughly 20 -22?
