How DOES she do it??? any ideas?

[Domestic_goddess]

Mine have moved eggs too.........I could never figure it out! So I was thinking, you know how penguins keep the eggs under thier bodies between there legs to keep the egg warm and they actually walking around, I pictured this is what they were doing....but I didn't know

 

[FisherMOM]

I used the golf ball so that they knew to lay eggs there. I used to find eggs in the run and on the floor. Now they lay them in the boxes. I just leave it there.

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

OOhhh!! I get it now. I feel better.

 

[dancingbear]

I think they can move eggs more than one way. They might tuck them under their chins and carry them, or under wings, or held between thighs. I think wings and chin are most likely. I don't think they can open beaks wide enough to pick up an egg. It could kind of look that way when they tuck them under the chin, though.

Mine have moved them, but I didn't see it happen. I just know I mark all the eggs, and sometimes eggs from one hen appear in another nest box under a different broody. Sneaky hens....

ED'd for typos

 

[FisherMOM]

I am interested to see what she does today. If she keeps this up, I am going to move her and her eggs to a dog crate. My husband has finally been paying attention to the number of chickens we are about to have in total!

 

[chickie_mama]

Quote:
Don't you hate it when that happens!!!

 

[jakmallex]

I'm glad to know that other people have this same problem! I had a silkie with 3 eggs under her. I looked yesterday and there were 7!! I was getting worried about the other hens b/c I thought they had stopped laying for some reason. She is in a nextbox that has a lip on the edge of it, so I have NO idea how she rolled the eggs from another nestbox that is setup the exact same way. The only problem is that the 3 eggs are due to hatch this weekend and the other ones have just started incubating. I doubt she'll sit on her nest long enough to hatch them.

 

[Lorettawyandotte]

My BA Emma stole eggs...she started out with three, then there were six and in the end she had thirteen eggs, ten of which hatched...I don't have a clue as to how she stole those eggs...never saw her move...she had white eggs, brown eggs, dark Maran eggs and green eggs...I have an EE/SL Polish cross in those chicks that is a hoot...he is just getting his hair do...he has to stay...

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

If it helps, I have actually caught my other hens in the same nest box as the broody. It seems the broody hen is the universal signal for "THIS IS THE BEST NEST BOX EVER!" They will all cram in there and lay an egg for her to steal. I finally gave up and made a gate to block off broody jail. One of my tee-tiny banties still figured out a way to wiggle herself in there to lay her egg. Oy! Chickens!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
You may not have read this previously, but it's posted often,
to mark the eggs when you put them under a hen to hatch. And check under her daily for new eggs/broken eggs, and remove any that don't belong.

Doing those two things can prevent a lot of problems.

If you don't have a 'bator to stick the late eggs in after the babies hatch, or another broody, it's probably best to just toss the ones that don't hatch (the newer eggs) from this bunch.

If you do have a broody, mark these before you put them under her.

Note on Marking Eggs:
A black sharpie works great, I've used them for years, they don't hurt the embryos, (no matter what anybody's always heard, if they say you must use only pencil, they were misinformed) and plain pencil rubs off. It's just a myth that anything else will kill/damage the chicks. People have patched cracked eggs with nail polish (full of toxic acetone) and had them hatch. A marker isn't going to hurt them. There are many posts, and some pics, from people using Sharpies to mark eggs. Mine hatch just fine, marked with Sharpie. If it was harmful, our eggs would not be hatching!