We have our first broody hen since we got our rooster and we are SO EXCITED to let her hatch some eggs. She started sitting a couple of days ago, and at first she wasn't camped out, just hogging the favorite nesting spot. Then yesterday, she was camped all day, so i just left her alone. It did not occur to me until today to check which eggs she was sitting on and how many. I want to add some eggs and switch some eggs, but I know that I can't just do that. So what do I do? Do I collect the eggs that she has been sitting on since yesterday and then collect eggs for a few days while she sits on golf balls? Can I still use the eggs that she has been sitting on and just add them in with the rest when i put them all down at once? What do I do with the eggs that I'm collecting? is the kitchen counter ok? Can I just collect the eggs that she has been sitting on, let them cool, and then use the ones from yesterday and today to set under her tonight that I want her to hatch? Right now I have all of the eggs that I want her to hatch, it's just that some she's been sitting on since yesterday, and the other were laid today by my other girls. PLEASE, ANYTHING YOU CAN SUGGEST!! thanks so much!
I would either throw the current eggs out now, use fake eggs or golf balls to buy me some time to collect eggs, and then replace them with the eggs I want. Or, put the second batch of eggs under her right now, while the current eggs are only one day into incubation. Staggered hatches are something that I will not do underneath a hen. You cannot take them up and re-add them later, because depending on how long they are cold, doing this will cause their hatch rates to drop & postpone hatch day or kill them. As for storing, store the eggs pointy side down inside an egg carton at room temp. Put a brick or rock underneath one side of the egg carton so that the eggs will be tilted, and change the side that the brick is under once a day. You technically can hold the eggs for quite a few weeks, but the hatch rate will begin to rapidly drop if you hold them for over one week.
