Chicken moving eggs from one raised nesting box to another???

[Yardmom]

How many days has she been sitting? Were you in the dark when you candled?

 

[Possum-Pie]

How many days has she been sitting? Were you in the dark when you candled?

Sitting 7 days. Semi-dark candling. I can see yolk.

 

[Possum-Pie]

I just don't see the physiological ability for a hen to carry an egg. Rolling, yes, carrying, no. She is still in the end box, other hens jump in with her or into the next box over. I will let her hatch eggs IF they are fertile, but I don't want her stressed for 3 weeks for nothing. The problem is other hens are adding to her clutch daily, so this is a longer situation than three weeks already. I'll properly candle in the dark with a bright light tonight to see if there is any sign of fertilization. Our rooster dances a lot, but I've never caught him mounting a hen...we have had one or two eggs with blood spots so he must be occasionally successful.

 

[Ridgerunner]

we have had one or two eggs with blood spots so he must be occasionally successful.

Blood spots have nothing to do with a rooster. As the yolk grows to a size to become a yolk and start an egg, it is enclosed in a membrane. When the membrane splits to release the yolk it is supposed to split along a line with no blood vessels. Occasionally a hen messes up and ruptures a blood vessel so some blood gets on the yolk and into the egg. Nothing to do with a rooster at all.

 

[Possum-Pie]

Ok...didn't know that.

 

[BDutch]

Two years ago I had two broodies (black sisters) in two nests next to each other. One day they were in one nest, the other in two nests. I thought (hoped) it was a one time mistake and replaced the fake eggs with pencil marked hatching eggs after a few days.
Soon after they may have decided to make one nest and rolled eggs to the other side.

The two nests look like this:

There was a lot off fuss, maybe because I intervened and seperated the two again with each 5 eggs. Other hens were adding eggs too. The other hens preferred these nest-boxes over the third nestbox in another spot.

After a couple of days another hen became broody too and wanted to join them . This was the limit. I separated the 2 broodies in the small coop with an attached small run, from the second coop/and larger run.

But even this was not the best solution because after several days I found the 2 broodies in one nestbox on 5 eggs and the other 5 were cold. I had 3 chicks. And both broodies raised them together.

This year I have about the same setting with one black and one other hen. These two behave more solitary. I hope there is no need to intervene this time.

The only other possibility I have for a broody is to move her to a seperate run with a tiny coop/large nestbox. But this ia a less safe environment. Moving a broody to another spot is always a risk, chances she wil abandon it.

If you want to know how many eggs (statistic) are fertilised by your rooster you can search for a fertilised spot (germinal disc) in the yolk before you make an omelet. Btw a rooster dances much more than he takes time for his deed. Birds mate very quickly.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have video of Bernadette rolling an egg trying to get it over the lip of the dish bowl that I use for the nesting boxes. Unfortunately the video stops before she was successful. But she definitely managed to move it.
Now that isn't up 14" with it tucked under her chin - but when I have observed her be successful she has indeed tucked it under her chin so I don't see any fundamental reason why she couldn't carry it.
Would take some skill though!

 

[BDutch]

What you can or should see if you check in the dark with a strong/special torch:

Embedded From https://microbeonline.com/embroyonated-egg-cultures-viruses/

 

[3KillerBs]

Supposedly, a hen can tuck an egg up under her wing and carry it some distance..

This is what I've been told. And I learned to "pick a broody's pockets" -- reaching up under her wings to remove any eggs up there -- after crushing one by picking her up around her wings.

I've seen eggs moved from box to box in raised nests from time to time -- eggs that couldn't be mistaken due to having only one hen who laid white eggs.

 

[Possum-Pie]

Thanks everyone for the input. My Buff Orpington has always had the desire to be broody (2 years) and this is the first year I allowed it. I feed her out of my hand twice a day and offer water (not sure if she is getting any on her own) Our Austrolorp squeezed in the nesting box beside her yesterday to lay an egg (she wasn't successful) but today she was in the corner of our coop sitting and obviously pushing to get an egg out. I DON'T want other chickens giving the Orpington more eggs to hatch b/c I don't want her broody more than 3 weeks. It's hard on a chicken to sit that long. I have a powerful light and can candle the eggs after dark tonight. I'm just worried that she is sitting on unfertile eggs. I never knew how to tell if an egg I was eating was fertilized but will look from now on.

Our rooster is funny...he dances when he first comes out of the coop in the AM and he dances when he sees me coming with meal worms. He dances quite a bit! He replaced another mean rooster and was quite a bit smaller then the girls when introduced. He had to grow up before they took him seriously but now he is a great protector. Not as sexually preoccupied as our old rooster, I've only caught him in the act once. The hens usually just run away from him.