Going broody question.

[harris farm]

i have been collecting eggs daily from 2 BR hens. if i leave the eggs in the nest will the hens be more likely to go broody? i would like for them to hatch some instead of incubating. when i bought them the guy said they already laid and hatched out 14 eggs each last year.

 

[farmgirl77]

This is my first broody season with turkeys, but I just put 8 eggs in a nest and my hen that has been laying the longest went broody the next day. Probably just beginner's luck, but that what happened for me. BTW, love your ending sentence on your posts!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I always leave them in the nest. My girls always go back and set when they have enough eggs. Last year, each of my girls layed anywhere from 10 -16 eggs before they went broody and decided to set for good. Suprisingly enough all of the eggs hatched.

I would let nature take its course. I don't own an incubator and never have. I do it the old fashion way.

 

[seabreeze]

We did that last year, between the three hens, had 32 eggs and once they started hatching, hens started squashing the eggs so we quickly removed the new poults and raised them. Out of 32 eggs, we managed to save 8 poults.

It wasn't predators, we have livestock guardian dogs and the monster sized tom was fiercesome anyway! Now we are taking the eggs and will incubate them.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I am having to remove poults now. My girls decided to lay eggs in the chicken's nesting boxes and it's a tight squeeze. So, I have to check AM & PM to see if any have hatched. As soon as they hatch, I bring them inside and put them in the brooder with a heat lamp. It's exhausting!

But you have to do it in order to save them.

Sometimes, I wish I had an incubator but I don't want to deal with the problems of humidity, temperature, moisture, etc.