- Mar 12, 2018
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How this all happened - my friend breeds some very nice chickens and I asked if I could have a few eggs to hatch out under my broody buff orpington (because I do not have a rooster). She said sure, just grab some from the nesting box. So, I went into the nesting box and couldn't find any eggs sitting out in the open. All the eggs were under this one hen. I thought, she is probably just there to lay her egg. I grabbed 4 eggs out from under her and she did not care at all, so I thought, deff not broody. I will also say, I was under the impression that they removed all the eggs everyday to eat, but apparently not. So needless to say, you can imagine how shocked I was when I went in there to check on her only a few days later and heard peeping. 
All the eggs were apparently not only very far along, but are hatching at totally different speeds. Obviously, this is not ideal at all, but is there anything I should be doing as damage control? I am pretty worried that A.) She will assume the other eggs are Not Good since they haven't hatched yet, and she'll abandon the nest. or B.) The other eggs will hatch early too and she will not leave the nest until the full 21 days are up, leaving the chicks to raise themselves pretty much.
All the eggs were apparently not only very far along, but are hatching at totally different speeds. Obviously, this is not ideal at all, but is there anything I should be doing as damage control? I am pretty worried that A.) She will assume the other eggs are Not Good since they haven't hatched yet, and she'll abandon the nest. or B.) The other eggs will hatch early too and she will not leave the nest until the full 21 days are up, leaving the chicks to raise themselves pretty much.
