Get back on your eggs you silly Button!

[xxSonja]

Day 5 of one of my young button hens first natural incubation. She is sitting on 11 eggs (only 4 eggs are hers) and she has decided to stop sitting. She's not just taking a break either she's just off running around as usual. Its been a few hours now, im not sure exactly how many.
So my questions are: how do i encourage her to go back to her eggs?
How long have i got until the eggs cant be saved?
I do have an incubator but i try to let everything happen naturally, other wise i would be over run with new chicks, i wouldnt be able to help myself lol and i dont think id have time to get it up and running smoothly before the eggs are no good anymore anyway.

 

[Akane]

It commonly happens with buttons. It's hard to get them to sit all the way through especially the first time. Even if she does start to sit again it will probably be too late for the eggs. Most likely they are already cooled off and the chicks will start dying if they don't get warmed back up soon.

 

[Stellar]

They usually sit on their own clutch of 7 and no more.

 

[xxSonja]

I have never had a hen stop sitting before. Ive had hens that are hard to get to go broody but once they start they follow through and raise beautiful chicks.
All my hens sit on between 6 - 15 eggs at a time with a 90% hatch rate.
My original hen had 2 clutches of 18 with 15 out of each hatching, she was amazing!
I occasionally will put eggs from another hen under a broody to hatch, and it makes no difference to the hen.
Im hoping this hen will continue to sit, but i guess it will be a case of wait and see. If she doesnt sit again by this afternoon, ill take the eggs. I cant even put them under another hen

This is the only time Ive had only one hen broody, usually i have 2 or 3 go into hatch mode at the same time..

 

[shelleyd2008]

If she has only been sitting a few days, the embryos should go dormant. So she can start sitting them later today or tomorrow and they'd be fine.

As far as the quantity of eggs in a nest, last summer I had a button that started sitting on 8 or 9 eggs. Her cagemate hen decided that the other buttons nest looked nice and cozy, and by the time the eggs started to hatch, there were 18 eggs in the nest. Almost everyone of them hatched, albeit over about 2 weeks

 

[NeoRoey]

Quote:
I don't know how to get mine to sit on her eggs.

 

[EggHunter_66]

These are my very 1st Buttons, my hens just started laying for the first time and so far none are sitting on them. I have like 5 girls and eggs EVERYWHERE!!! the night before last I had atleast 30 eggs so in one section of the hutch they were laying in I tossed all of them...well i did fed some to them and the others to my chickens so that way with the one section cleared I now know of any new fresh eggs as they get laid and I am now taking those cause I have never eaten a egg of theirs yet and would like to try them plus I know of people who pickle eggs and they would love some quail eggs (by the way what is the going rate to charge for them?).
Will my hens sooner or later sit on them? My chickens have never sat on their eggs so I am use to birds not wanting lil children running around and you know something....I dont blame them

 

[xxSonja]

Well the good news is she went back to sit again at some point before the morning

so hopefully ill still get a good hatch rate.

I dont really know what the going rate is for eggs, i just sell them for about $1 each but not many people here buy them, Not in my area anyway.
As for getting them to sit, its kind of hit and miss with getting a broody hen. Fortunatly for me Ive been lucky as all but one of my hens goes broody. she just refuses to sit eggs so i just switch some of her eggs under another hen.
Usually my younger hens just lay eggs all over the place until they're ready, then they move them all together and go broody.

 

[EggHunter_66]

Glad to read that your girl is sitting once again!
Ok, mine do lay all over the place but I have noticed just yesturday that in two of the areas that have eggs they are starting to put them more in a pile so maybe that is a sign....that would be great.

 

[Stellar]

Phew! good silly button...now stay on those eggs!