gave up trying to hatch

[quadcam79]

one of my hens was acting really broody, she would lay and egg and freak out and start cackling at me when i went to take it, I had to push her off the next a few times and she wasnt happy about it and let me know. So I decided to try and let her hatch a few.
first mistake, i didnt mark a few of the eggs when I decided to let her sit. So everyday i would go out and there were more eggs in the nest, so I just let them there. Later I would go out and shes in the run with the rest of the chickens and not sitting on the nest.

So I figured maybe she would get back on the nest, I'll just leave the eggs and see. I would go out and find her on the nest and then later shes back out in the run again and would be for hours.

I finally gave up and pulled all of the eggs from the nest, I dont know how long they're viable to hatch or to eat at that point.
the oldest ones have probably been out there for 2 weeks. I just destroyed them all, which I wasnt real happy about. I took a dozen that I had in the fridge to work the other day and people were asking about buying them and by lettting those in the nest I've only been getting 1-2 a day from other hens. So I'm pretty much out of eggs right now.

Oh well, lesson learned, maybe I'll try again sometime but this time I'll mark a few and pull the rest daily.

 

[ranchhand]

I've heard that some hens have to practice being broody before they get serious. Could she have been testing it? Sorry about the egg toss, but better safe than sorry. Good luck with the selling, hope they give you lots of eggs to sell!

 

[RL]

My little bantam Cochin pullit did that for a few months. She would sit on the nest one night and then off the next, she would run the yard calling to invisiable chicks, but would still lay an egg about every two days. After about two , two and half months she went full on broody and on this past monday she hatched out 7 chicks. Shes a happy camper now. So give her time while she makes up her mind.

I would remove the eggs from the nest and keep some fake eggs in there for to sit on and when decides to go full on broody give her a few days and then put the eggs under her you want to hatch. Best to move her to her own space or the others will keep laying in the nest and could start breaking the eggs.