First Time Hen Starting to Lay Eggs Seems Undecided to Sit on Eggs

[cocopop]

I Have a 7 month hen starting to lay eggs and she has 6 eggs in the nest and two that I took away. Well yesterday she kept getting off and on the nest until she stayed on overnight. The next morning she was off the nest waiting for food with the others. Well she was not making any clucking sounds or is not acting broody but she was on the eggs for quit awhile. My worry is that she is not ready to sit and she started the incubation process sitting on the eggs all night. She is off this morning and does not look broody so I am not sure if she will be back on. Will the eggs die if she does not go back on the eggs after sitting on them all night? Does a inexperienced Hen know what to do the first time through? How long does a hen have to sit on the eggs before the incubation process begins?

 

[cmfarm]

It sounds to me like she is not broody. I have some hens that like to stay on the eggs for a while but will eventually get off. If you want chicks I would try incubating them; I don't think the hen is going to hatch any.

 

[cocopop]

Does the young hen eventually know how to hatch out eggs or are there some that are not able or will not incubate and hatch eggs?

 

[MamaDoodle]

Some hens never go broody, some do. Age is not always a factor, as it can happen from six months to senior living, haha. Also, breeding can play a factor in the likelihood of a hen going broody.