Hatching

[1sttimechickenmama]

Hi I’m new

New to having chickens and new to BYC.

My hens (pullets) are 5 months and have started laying eggs about a little over a week ago. There’s three of them and 8 eggs now. Problem: no one is sitting on them. How many do they need for a clutch? I didn’t want to eat the first batch and wanted to hatch them , keep the girls for my 2 roosters and use the males for meat. Should I just take the eggs out, or just leave them?

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Howdy! Welcome to our FUNomenal Flock!
If no one is laying on the eggs, then remove them. A hen needs to go broody before she sits.....

 

[DobieLover]

You should remove the eggs. One of your pullets needs to go broody for her to sit on a clutch of eggs and finish the job of hatching/raising your next generation.

 

[1sttimechickenmama]

Howdy! Welcome to our FUNomenal Flock!
If no one is laying on the eggs, then remove them. A hendy needs to go broody before she sits.....

Okay. So they will keep laying as I remove them correct? But how will I know if/when they go broody and when to leave the eggs?

 

[DobieLover]

You should remove the eggs. One of your pullets needs to go broody for her to sit on a clutch of eggs and finish the job of hatching/raising your next generation.

Oh! How rude of me! WELCOME TO BYC! Glad you joined!

 

[1sttimechickenmama]

Oh! How rude of me! WELCOME TO BYC! Glad you joined!

Thanks

 

[DobieLover]

You'll know a pullet went broody when she refuses to leave the nest box and tries to peck your face off when you attempt to force her off the nest! (Just joking about the second part... mostly!)

And yes, they will continue to lay eggs.

 

[1sttimechickenmama]

Okay. So they will keep laying as I remove them correct? But how will I know if/when they go broody and when to leave the eggs?

Thanks

You'll know a pullet went broody when she refuses to leave the nest box and tries to peck your face off when you attempt to force her off the nest! (Just joking about the second part... mostly!)

And yes, they will continue to lay eggs.

LOL. Okay well I will take them out tomorrow and start enjoying eggs for breakfast!

 

[The Golden Egg5]

They will continue to lay eggs as long as they aren’t broody, molting it sick.
When they become broody, they will sit wherever they think is fit for chicks (it could be in a nesting box, on the roof, in a bush, basically anywhere) and they will growl and puff up at anything they see. They may or may not peck you when you reach your hand under them. The main way to tell if they are broody is if they stay in their brooding spot overnight. A broody must sit on her clutch most the day, and all night, so she will stay on her nest almost all the time.

 

[1sttimechickenmama]

They will continue to lay eggs as long as they aren’t broody, molting it sick.
When they become broody, they will sit wherever they think is fit for chicks (it could be in a nesting box, on the roof, in a bush, basically anywhere) and they will growl and puff up at anything they see. They may or may not peck you when you reach your hand under them. The main way to tell if they are broody is if they stay in their brooding spot overnight. A broody must sit on her clutch most the day, and all night, so she will stay on her nest almost all the time.

Thanks. Well they definitely aren’t broody yet because they run away all day. They just lay but I do see one of them go in now and again as if she is checking on them.