found a cluch of eggs in the yard

[GopherBoyFarms]

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?

LOL yes we havea rooster. And he does his job very well

When we crack open eggs about 90-95% are fertile.​

 

[Henrietta23]

She's so pretty I'd be tempted to incubate some of the eggs just to be sure to get some chicks! Could you leave her some and put the rest in a bator?

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

I acctually have 3 in a makeshift bator at the moment. I really dont think it is going to work....but this weekend we are going to build one with all the bells and whistles. The one I am using right now doesnt have a humidity guage or a thermostat. But this weekend we are planning on a family project to build a nice big one. DH will be involved so I am sure it will be something very elaberate.(SP)

 

[keljonma]

Well, she is mighty young for a broody. I've found that most of the first time broodies that young don't really sit on the nest for the entire 3 weeks.

Good luck!

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

today she hasnt moved off her eggs, she is out there sleeping on them.

Oh, and BTW I believe she is an EE

 

[miss_thenorth]

I had a bird , just recently lay 11 eggs in some weeds near our shop. We noticed after a week of her being "missing", that she came out to eat, so we followed her to where she was setting. She sat faithfully, we didn't move her, and she hatched 8 of them.

However, the night they hatched, she was startled off her nest. Five chicks were run off, and mom was on our barbecue. We collected the five and put them in a brooder until mom started setting again. she hatched out the three more who are with her now, but I still have five in my bathroom--she wouldn't accept the original five. They are about a week old.

 

[twigg]

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!

Chickens find good habits as hard to break as bad ones.

If you can confine them for a few days, with just the nestboxes as good laying spots, they will likely start using them.

Once they start, they will continue.

 

[Denali (Auntie's Shadow)]

Quote:
LOL yes we have a rooster. And he does his job very well

When we crack open eggs about 90-95% are fertile.

Oh, that's good. I'm only 12 yrs old, so I can't say that I know a lot, but I still know a good deal of advise.

So, it sounds as if you only need to get her to lay on them?

 

[Portia]

Twigg makes a good point. When my girls start to vary their laying to other than their coop boxes I close them in the coop til about 9-10 am for 1-3 mornings in a row, that usually sets them straight and the laying goes back to the designated boxes. Of course I also have 2 nest boxes up on the deck next to the back door where at least 1/2 of my hens lay. The rooster originally picked out these 2 spots and we figured, why not, they're right outside the door! Of course the hens can get awful noisy during lay time when they find their nest is occupied by another hen and one of the deck doors is right outside the bedroom. Our hens start laying around 6-7 am right now. Its the only time I've ever wanted the days to be a bit shorter. Btw, my hens don't all lay in the morning, I have 2-3 that lay in the early/mid afternoon. Still, the early morning sequester seems to do the trick.