Do your hens relocate their eggs?

[Ponypoor]

I've had broody hens that played the long game. They sit a little longer each day, collect eggs, and continue to roost. Eventually they will begin to sit round the clock. As to how, she may have convenienced her roomies to lay in her chosen spot by depositing her own eggs there for a couple of days.
Are you going to let her sit or break her? There is just nothing like a mama hen and chicks.

I miss having chickies around but dealing with the cockerels is just too stressful for me.

At the moment thankfully no broody girls, but it's an Easter egg hunt these days to find eggs. Now that I have jinxed myself by mentioning 'that which should never be mentioned', I will likely have 20 of them go broody hahaha!

 

[janiedoe]

I miss having chickies around but dealing with the cockerels is just too stressful for me.

At the moment thankfully no broody girls, but it's an Easter egg hunt these days to find eggs. Now that I have jinxed myself by mentioning 'that which should never be mentioned', I will likely have 20 of them go broody hahaha!

Just do what I do, Kelly. Build more pens and keep all the roosters. Call them yard art, and enjoy the "music".

 

[RoyalChick]

Just do what I do, Kelly. Build more pens and keep all the roosters. Call them yard art, and enjoy the "music".

Yard art

 

[Bsmac]

I miss having chickies around but dealing with the cockerels is just too stressful for me.

At the moment thankfully no broody girls, but it's an Easter egg hunt these days to find eggs. Now that I have jinxed myself by mentioning 'that which should never be mentioned', I will likely have 20 of them go broody hahaha!

 

[Ponypoor]

Yard art

Oh yes just what I need, more lawn ornaments!

Meanwhile, I caught wee little Holly trying to steal eggs from Buttercup - who was quite happy to let her. These silkies are going to drive me nuts - at least she's doing better than her mama who went broody only 3 weeks after starting to lay eggs. At least Holly has waited 5 weeks!

She was trying to roll Buttercups egg out of the nest box onto the ground to brood over it in the middle of the Summer House! Thankfully the edge on the box is a good 5" high.

 

[janiedoe]

Yard art

You've seen some of my boys! You cannot dispute their beauty!

 

[RoyalChick]

You've seen some of my boys! You cannot dispute their beauty!

Indeed I do not dispute it!

 

[Eleos]

I've had broody hens that played the long game. They sit a little longer each day, collect eggs, and continue to roost. Eventually they will begin to sit round the clock. As to how, she may have convenienced her roomies to lay in her chosen spot by depositing her own eggs there for a couple of days.
Are you going to let her sit or break her? There is just nothing like a mama hen and chicks.

Huh, good to know about hens playing the long game. I assumed once they were broody they quit roosting. But they do quit laying their own eggs, though, right? They just steal from everyone else?
As soon as I realized she was broody I put her in a wire cage for a couple days. Wasn't till later that I thought about *how* she actually acquired all those eggs. My last broody hen stayed in the box all day before I broke her so I've never had to deal with an egg-mover.
Thankfully I don't have any roosters so I won't be surprised with chicks one day.

 

[janiedoe]

Huh, good to know about hens playing the long game. I assumed once they were broody they quit roosting. But they do quit laying their own eggs, though, right? They just steal from everyone else?
As soon as I realized she was broody I put her in a wire cage for a couple days. Wasn't till later that I thought about *how* she actually acquired all those eggs. My last broody hen stayed in the box all day before I broke her so I've never had to deal with an egg-mover.
Thankfully I don't have any roosters so I won't be surprised with chicks one day.

I don't know. Chickens are like toddlers, they break all the rules. Just when you think you have them figured out, one comes along and does something to make you question everything you thought you knew.
I have a hen who will not sit. She will gather eggs and leave them. She steals other broodies' chicks and will fight to keep them. I've had to literally beat her off me to take 12 week old cockerels from her. They were already breeding but she insisted on covering them at night.
I have another who will sit but when the first egg starts to chirp and move she is off and gone. Fortunately there is always another willing to raise the chicks.
One of my girls, Lucy, raised chicks that were 9 days apart in age. She was a special hen. She raised most of the flock.

 

[Ponypoor]

I don't know. Chickens are like toddlers, they break all the rules. Just when you think you have them figured out, one comes along and does something to make you question everything you thought you knew.
I have a hen who will not sit. She will gather eggs and leave them. She steals other broodies' chicks and will fight to keep them. I've had to literally beat her off me to take 12 week old cockerels from her. They were already breeding but she insisted on covering them at night.
I have another who will sit but when the first egg starts to chirp and move she is off and gone. Fortunately there is always another willing to raise the chicks.
One of my girls, Lucy, raised chicks that were 9 days apart in age. She was a special hen. She raised most of the flock.

Not sure what’s up with Holly, is she broody or isn’t she? And how did she get those blue eggs? Someone gifted her with this eggs! Someone who never lays eggs in that nestbox.