I have a cochin bantam hen and rooster. I'm hoping to raise some chicks from this pair. The hen has started to lay eggs, but has not gone broody and now the forecast is calling for below freezing temps at night. My question is should I bring the eggs inside at night to keep them from freezing or can I just leave them in the nest? Their coop is just a 3 foot by 3 foot converted dog box. She's been laying for about a month, about an egg every other day. Should I just take the eggs after this cold spell passes and let her lay fresh eggs? We've had laying hens for years, but this is our first attempt at hatching chicks.
If you are trying to persuade her to go broody by leaving eggs in the box, your best bet is to get some fake eggs, TSC sells some ceramic ones that are pretty realistic and collect the eggs daily, storing what you want and replacing the older ones with newer ones (in storage) until she goes broody or until you give up waiting for her to do so. I have 2 coops, one coop has 4 silkies (who are known for being broody) and in the over a year that I've had them not a single one has ever gone broody. My second coop which is mostly mixes, I have someone wanting to be broody on a daily basis. So broodiness doesn't always happen.
