Chickens helping each other keep the eggs warm?

[Den in Penn]

If they go broody and hatch expect to be egg-less more like three months. Three weeks to hatch and another six or more to raise them to weaning. Some times the start again before they wean, but sometimes after.

 

[RichnSteph]

Thanks for all the help and information folks. We now have one hen in a nesting box sitting on 5 eggs and another on the floor of the coop sitting on one single egg. We're just going to let them hang out in there and do what they do although the one of the floor might make it difficult to clean the coop this Sunday. The one really odd thing is that out of the remaining 13 hens that we have I only got 3 eggs yesterday and one of them was out on the ground by the wood pile. Will a couple of broody hens make the rest of them slow down egg production?

RichnSteph

 

[Rowsdower]

So far she's still sitting. A new problem has come up. In the other nest box is a second hen that has decided to sit on eggs so now both nesting boxes are occupied. I've put a bucket on the floor of the coop with some bedding and an egg in it. If someone goes broody in there I'm just going to give up on having eggs for the next month.

I tend to have issues with broodies brooding together. The eggs are constantly being juggled around and sometimes left uncovered altogether because the girls are too preoccupied with stealing the others' eggs when she gets up.

 

[Den in Penn]

Slow down laying maybe if they are stressed by the broody taking the regular egg laying nests. I know it disturbs mine when one goes broody in the nests, they start to lay away from the nests. So the wood pile may not be the only place you might find eggs. Oh and some, like me, try to move the broody from the nesting boxes for that reason among others.

I tend to have issues with broodies brooding together. The eggs are constantly being juggled around and sometimes left uncovered altogether because the girls are too preoccupied with stealing the others' eggs when she gets up.

Which is why I usually will try to pen them separately in the coop. The rest of the flock can also disturb the nest, without a barrier.

 

[RichnSteph]

Slow down laying maybe if they are stressed by the broody taking the regular egg laying nests. I know it disturbs mine when one goes broody in the nests, they start to lay away from the nests. So the wood pile may not be the only place you might find eggs. Oh and some, like me, try to move the broody from the nesting boxes for that reason among others.
Which is why I usually will try to pen them separately in the coop. The rest of the flock can also disturb the nest, without a barrier.

When you move the broody hen do you just pick her and her eggs up and put her somewhere else? I've got places I can put both of these girls but wasn't sure if I could just grab them and move them with their eggs.


RichnSteph

Edit: I actually did my own research instead. I'll move them both at night so they've got an entire evening of sitting in the new location and I'll set up boxes to put them in.

Thanks again!

 

[Den in Penn]

Good luck on the relocation.

 

[RichnSteph]

Relocation went well for one, not so much for the other. The Australorp refuses to stop being broody. She sits on the roost, yup on the roost, and fluffs up anytime another chicken gets near her. If anyone lays an egg in a nesting box she heads in there to sit on it. Then goes to the other nesting box when a hen lays an egg in there, or on the floor of the coop... or outside. She wants very badly to brood but hasn't a clue what she's doing even though her previous owner used her on several occasions to brood and raise chicks. I'm going to either have to get her into a small coop on her own and build a fenced run for her alone or break her of this. The Wyandotte cross hasn't gotten off of her eggs once that I've seen the entire week. She was successfully relocated to a box under the poop board a couple days ago and when I felt under her this evening she's got quite a few eggs under her. I think she'll do well, at least I hope she does.

So the issue is that with the Australorp acting like she is the other hens are not laying. I got three eggs today out of 13 other laying hens. A couple of the younger hens have been roosting in a tree at night and apparently laying eggs in their sleep as I found a couple of broken ones on the ground. I searched the entire property and didn't find a nest or any other random eggs anywhere. I'm glad we've got four dozen eggs in the refrigerator already or we'd be buying eggs.

Do I go ahead and try to break her from being broody or just let her get on a pile of eggs from everyone else and then locate her into another coop? Thoughts?

RichnSteph.

 

[Den in Penn]

I think it comes down to whether you want more chicks or not. I know with my surprise brood I will have to make some decisions when they get near POL, I just don't have the room.

 

[RichnSteph]

I think it comes down to whether you want more chicks or not. I know with my surprise brood I will have to make some decisions when they get near POL, I just don't have the room.

We do want more chicks and plans are in the works for a much larger coop. I like the idea of a multigenerational flock. We'll wait and see what happens, hopefully in a few weeks we'll have little ones running around. I