found a cluch of eggs in the yard

[GopherBoyFarms]

One of our girls has been laying for a month or so...well we havent gotten any eggs from her in a while. Today I was out in the yard and heard her singing the egg song right next to me, looked down and there she was with 7 eggs. She isnt sitting on them yet....but will she? Should I move them? should I toss them out, or should I leave them? And if I leave them will they hatch? most the eggs we crack open are fertile.....oh, and how many eggs will she lays before she sits on them??

I would LOVE for her to hatch these ones. And if she starts sitting on them can I move her and her eggs?

thanks

 

[keljonma]

If you have an isolated secure area where you could set up a nest for her, you could try it. A hen usually won't sit on her clutch until she is done laying all the eggs in the clutch.

We use our laundry/mud room for brooder area, infirmary and broody hen hatching eggs area. We set up a portable nest box we have but even a cardboard box will work. Put whatever bedding you use in your nest boxes in it. At night, move the eggs and then put the hen on top of the eggs.

She may decide it's time to hatch, or maybe not. If not, you could try incubating them yourself. I think Miss Prissy has plans for a homemade incubator on her page. We just use our hens.

Good luck!


Edited to add: your hen will need food and water nearby. Once she goes broody, she will get off the nest once or twice a day to drop a really disgustingly smelly and large broody poo. So, access to outdoors is good or lay cardboard down around the nest and clean up as she goes....

 

[Portia]

My SS just hatched out 8 chicks. She chose to brood them in one of the nesting boxes in the coop, so I figured why not. I try to stay out the way as much as possible and just see what they, as chickens, decide. Anyhow. Once they were big enough to crawl out of the nesting box and down onto the coop floor, mamma moved down to the little make-shift nest nook in the corner under the other nesting boxes. Now the chicks are safely on one level and everyone has food & water. There is a droppings box under to roosts for the other birds, so I don't have to worry about that. The other hens come in during the day and lay their eggs, then go on about their business. All the hens and the roo come in at night and go to roost, no one bothers mama or her babies. Two times I found a chick that had ventured out of the coop and couldn't get back in; the other hens stayed nearby until I gathered him up and took him back to the nest.
That's just my story & this is the first time I've hatched out any eggs. When my hen went broody I took all the eggs I'd collected that day and just stuck them under her. 21 days later 8/11 hatched. Not bad.

 

[Marlinchaser]

She may have no intention of sitting on them, just chose that spot to lay.

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

we are planning to get or build (I think build using the amzing Miss Priss plans) an incubator. But IF I can get her to sit on them that would be great. I wonder if I could move them all into the garage. The chickens seem to like to lay in there (well 3 of them do) I have a portible nest box that I could set her up in.
So do I wait for her to start sitting before I move them? How many do they lay before they go broody?
I just looked again and saw there are 8 eggs now. All pretty blueish green eggs!!
I am afraid that if I can get her to go broody I will stick every egg layed here under her LOL! I want babies again and so does the rest of the family!

btw. this is her...

 

[Portia]

Pretty girl!
Marlin makes a good point, just because they lay a clutch doesn't mean they plan to sit on them. I've found plenty of clutches around the yard with no intended broodies in sight. However, when I did have a hen go broody she holed up the nest box atop a couple of golf balls...no eggs in sight. I'm not sure a clutch of eggs and broodiness are always linked in the brain of a chicken.

 

[KellyHM]

Oh, she's so pretty and she looks just like my Rosy! How old was she when she started laying? Rosy is 5 months old and no eggs yet, so I just wondered how long it will take.

 

[Henrietta23]

I've got one that does that but never sits on them.

 

[Denali (Auntie's Shadow)]

Oh, how beautiful! An Americana! Our Amerecauna pullet, Eagle, looks just like that!

Anyway, if you want the eggs to hatch, you must have a rooster. Do you have one?

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

Quote:
She is just about 5 months old and has been laying for about a month so I would bet yours will be laying soon.
Do you let yours free range? If so I would look around the yard. We go one egg searches everyday to find eggs out of 19 only 3 of the girls will lay in the nest box!