How long should I let a chicken sit on her eggs?

[4Henny]

Hello! I have never asked a question before here on this forum but I have always gotten good information from other posts. I have a problem. A good hen went broody with 4 initial eggs on July 10. She is very skittish so I did not disturb her. One week later, when she went out drinking, I noticed that she had 14 eggs. It is very hot here in Texas so the eggs could practically hatch on their own. (just kidding). Since that time, 3 eggs broke in the nest and I cleaned this mess up while she was out. She pushed 4 eggs out of the nest last week. Oh my gosh, this sounds like a math problem! I digress. My problem lies in the amount of time I should give her to hatch these remaining 7 eggs. My original pip date was July 31. We are 4 days past that. What is a reasonable time frame here? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Do the sniff test on each egg and/or candle them. Personally I'd probably ride it out if they look viable as long as she is leaving often enough to defecate, eat, and drink. Also in the future mark the eggs and try to isolate her. It's nearly impossible to have an "easy" experience with a broody when they are with the other chickens.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

This is why most people candle during the first 20 days or so, so that you know when you get to this point what to expect. Obviously not everyone has candling tools, so no issue there. You really don't have a firm date when she started sitting and 14 eggs is an incredible amount for one hen to handle (which is why she probably threw some out). She knows which one is viable (that's nature!) or she knew she couldn't handle that many. SO *if* any were viable, it is likely the 7 she has left. I would absolutely give it until the weekend given your loose timeframe. Comes this weekend if you don't hear any peeps or see any pips... then likely you have unviable eggs. Good luck!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

She knows which one is viable (that's nature!)

In my experience this has proven to be false every time. Every time I've candled an egg that was out of a nest, it's been viable. They aren't even smart enough to get back on the *correct* nest when leaving to defecate and eat/drink. *Just sharing my two cents*

 

[Tclloyd0812]

Hello! I have never asked a question before here on this forum but I have always gotten good information from other posts. I have a problem. A good hen went broody with 4 initial eggs on July 10. She is very skittish so I did not disturb her. One week later, when she went out drinking, I noticed that she had 14 eggs. It is very hot here in Texas so the eggs could practically hatch on their own. (just kidding). Since that time, 3 eggs broke in the nest and I cleaned this mess up while she was out. She pushed 4 eggs out of the nest last week. Oh my gosh, this sounds like a math problem! I digress. My problem lies in the amount of time I should give her to hatch these remaining 7 eggs. My original pip date was July 31. We are 4 days past that. What is a reasonable time frame here? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

My advice is either to candle them (3 at a time so you don't get confused), mark the ones that are viable/moving, throw out the ones that are not fertile or moving. Smell the eggs, tap on the round, large part of the egg a few times, put next to your ear. If you hear a faint tapping/popping sound you will have chicks in the next 2 days. If they are too early and you can't candle, (you can use a flashlight or phone light for this also, though not as reliable for candleing) go by smell and if they smell like anything at all (rotten or have a nasty smell) carefully, immediately throw those bombs out!
If you don't smell anything and can't candle them, I'd give it another week, try again with the tapping and smell test, then throw them all out. I'm not sure when or how she would be sitting on 14 vs 4 to begin with, but if they aren't fertile or she hasn't been devoted to sitting on them, they won't hatch. You may have some sneaky hens that are jumping in her spot and laying when she gets up. I had this same problem recently. One of my hens was initially on 12 or 14 eggs and then ended up with 20. After most of them hatched, I candled the others and they were only about a week or 2 along in the incubation process, so I had to place them in our incubator because she already had chicks to tend to and the others would be 2 weeks apart in age if she kept sitting.
I think the smell test, candling test, and the tapping test are the best methods in your situation. I never would do a float test because that can chill the egg too much if there is life inside...
Another tip is to feel the eggs, I've noticed that if an egg is infertile or spoiled, it will be A LOT colder feeling than the others and if you kind of shake it (not hard) in your hand you can feel something move back and forth.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

In my experience this has proven to be false every time. Every time I've candled an egg that was out of a nest, it's been viable. They aren't even smart enough to get back on the *correct* nest when leaving to defecate and eat/drink. *Just sharing my two cents*

Lol, sounds like you have some dumb birds there. I guess they don't call chickens "bird-brains" for no reason.

In fairness, my experience has been the opposite. So our experiences cancel each other out and we have no answer.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Lol, sounds like you have some dumb birds there. I guess they don't call chickens "bird-brains" for no reason.

In fairness, my experience has been the opposite. So our experiences cancel each other out and we have no answer.

I have 11 nest boxes, so without isolating them they just sit on the closest box with eggs. I've had five different broodies this year! Don't worry, when I actively try to hatch, they get their own isolation chambers so these things don't happen.

 

[yakitori]

Lol, sounds like you have some dumb birds there. I guess they don't call chickens "bird-brains" for no reason.

In fairness, my experience has been the opposite. So our experiences cancel each other out and we have no answer.

I’ve definitely read about way more dumb chickens on this forum than smart ones, and am incline believe that dumb ones that sit back on the wrong nests, push out the wrong eggs, are a more common occurrence, lol.

Personally I would prefer to assume that my chicken is dumb until she has proven otherwise. If she turns out to be smart, no harm done, if she turns out to be dumb, then I’ve saved potential hatches from a certain doom...
win-win!

 

[4Henny]

My advice is either to candle them (3 at a time so you don't get confused), mark the ones that are viable/moving, throw out the ones that are not fertile or moving. Smell the eggs, tap on the round, large part of the egg a few times, put next to your ear. If you hear a faint tapping/popping sound you will have chicks in the next 2 days. If they are too early and you can't candle, (you can use a flashlight or phone light for this also, though not as reliable for candleing) go by smell and if they smell like anything at all (rotten or have a nasty smell) carefully, immediately throw those bombs out!
If you don't smell anything and can't candle them, I'd give it another week, try again with the tapping and smell test, then throw them all out. I'm not sure when or how she would be sitting on 14 vs 4 to begin with, but if they aren't fertile or she hasn't been devoted to sitting on them, they won't hatch. You may have some sneaky hens that are jumping in her spot and laying when she gets up. I had this same problem recently. One of my hens was initially on 12 or 14 eggs and then ended up with 20. After most of them hatched, I candled the others and they were only about a week or 2 along in the incubation process, so I had to place them in our incubator because she already had chicks to tend to and the others would be 2 weeks apart in age if she kept sitting.
I think the smell test, candling test, and the tapping test are the best methods in your situation. I never would do a float test because that can chill the egg too much if there is life inside...
Another tip is to feel the eggs, I've noticed that if an egg is infertile or spoiled, it will be A LOT colder feeling than the others and if you kind of shake it (not hard) in your hand you can feel something move back and forth.

I will candle tonight and see what is what in there. Regardless, I will probably give her through the weekend because she has been so devoted to her cause. I would hate to see her have a complete bust. Will a hen finally give up if no eggs hatch?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I’ve definitely read about way more dumb chickens on this forum than smart ones, and am incline believe that dumb ones that sit back on the wrong nests, push out the wrong eggs, are a more common occurrence, lol.

Personally I would prefer to assume that my chicken is dumb until she has proven otherwise. If she turns out to be smart, no harm done, if she turns out to be dumb, then I’ve saved potential hatches from a certain doom...
win-win!

Speaking of dumb chickens, I have a pen for growing out meat birds that has a 4' chicken wire. My flock used to free range and they loved to fly into the meat pen (it was empty), lay an egg, then fly out. Sometimes they'd even chill roosting on the gate.

Recently we expanded the laying flock's run (which is rarely used) to include an area fenced in with more 4' chicken wire for daytime. A feral cat and killed two four week old chicks, so it was more for keeping out the cat and protecting babies than keeping the adult birds in. These birds will go into that run and scream in the direction of the house all day until I let them out and have never once flown over the fence, although it is fully within their power to do so.