Hens Ignoring their eggs?

[Hopefully]

I took my bantams' eggs for a few hours before putting them back (long story, lol) and my hens are not even acknowledging that they have eggs now. They pecked at the eggs a little when I returned them and they even dented one. (Will that one be OK?) There are 3 eggs right now, they'll probably start sitting on them when there are more, or what? I'm very concerned that it might be too late for the eggs as it is cold outside and the eggs feel freezing! Any advice? I did put the eggs in a new spot from where they originally were (in some brush, they're now across the yard behind some bushes). Should I just put them back in the original spot? Because I put them there first but the hens ignored it and walked away, so that's why I moved them across the yard where the hens went off to. The hens just don't seem to care. sorry if this was confusing!

 

[ella]

You want them to hatch, correct?

First, is one of your hens broody? Unless you have a hen that wants to set, they will not hatch. Not all hens have the urge to do so.

 

[tiffanyh]

Cracked eggs will become rotten if sat on.

If a hen is not broody it will not sit on eggs.

 

[Hopefully]

Oh... well that's depressing.

So the eggs will never hatch then, correct? If I leave them out in the nest? Because I read somewhere that hens usually wait until they lay 8 eggs or so before sitting on them, or was that wrong? There are 3 eggs now, one cracked. Should I remove the cracked one? Is there no hope for that one? It's not too cracked, a small dent only.

All of this egg business is a lot more confusing that I thought

 

[trueblueshowgirl]

So they were setting before you took the eggs away?
And now they're not?
Sometimes when you disturb a nest of eggs this way, the hen will abandon it. Some breeds are more sensitive to disturbances than others, I think.

These particular eggs are toast. But don't give up. Let them lay a new clutch (usually six or more) and see if they'll set those.

Good luck! You should get a couple Silkies for setting- they're the best!

 

[loverOFchickens]

The best way to stimulate 8 eggs is to make fake ones. This will make it so you can use your eggs until a hen is broody. You can make fake eggs with gulf balls painted rocks or those wooden eggs you find in craft stores.

 

[Hopefully]

Yes, I believe they were setting before I decided to play around with the eggs, excitement overwhelmed me. Ugh, I feel so bad now. They're still mating, so I suppose there will be more. Next time I will not disturb the nest! I promise. Although I'm hoping the fake egg idea will work...

 

[Hopefully]

Is it too late to put the eggs back in my care?

 

[greathorse]

"Hopefully" I think you should take a bit of a time out and learn a bit more about the way chickens reproduce.

First' eggs are simply eggs whether they are fertile or not. They do not start to develop a chick until they have begun to incubate. Up until the time they are incubated they are perfect for eating and almost all eggs are eaten with out ever being incubated by either a hen or an incubator.

Start there.

Next if you do want to produce baby chicks you will either need an incubator that keeps the eggs at a very constant temperature and humidity. 100 degrees is pretty close but varies a bit depending on the type of incubator. Too hot or too cold will kill the chick almost certainly. It has been documented that folks have done it with body heat but I think your odds are near zeroe.

If you want a hen to hatch the eggs you must wait until the hen is broody. This happens entirely on their time schedule not on yours. Bantams are more likely to go broody than some others but still no garuntee.

Going broody has little or nothing to do with whether or not there are eggs to be sat on. It has to do with their cycle. If they act like they want to peck your hand off and go right back to the nest even if you take them off, and if they stay on the nest for days at a time you have a broody hen. Otherwise you do not and that is just the way it is.

Most eggs that are layed are of course not hatched by the hens, they lay them and move on.


I would suggest doing a bit of reading or asking questions about the reproction of chickens and spend less time worrying and fussing about the eggs your chickens are producing at this time.

 

[Hopefully]

Makes sense. Like I said, I don't know much about chickens but here's my experiment if you'd like to hear it:

I'm keeping the eggs under my shirt. If you read my other topic in "Incubating and hatching Eggs" you will see what I mean. But this is basically a repeated topic, it's too complicated to explain everything here.

But please wish me luck!