How long to let a hen keep sitting on her eggs

[MedicJeff25]

My hen is brooding for the first time and it’s my first time letting one hatch her own chicks. My problem is that I’m not exactly sure of the date she started sitting on them. I’m pretty sure it’s been over 3 weeks now but there aren’t any signs of pipping yet. I’ve candled them and they all appear to have chicks in them. How long should I wait? Or will she just stop sitting on them when she realizes they’re not going to hatch? She pushed two eggs out of the nest early on which I’m assuming means they weren’t fertilized but I’m not sure. Help?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I assume you have a rooster. Since you don't know when she started, don't give up. If they are her eggs, they all started the same time because she won't lay more after she starts sitting. Another possibility is that other hens will volunteer eggs after she starts every time she leaves the nest. That causes a protracted hatch which rarely ends well.

 

[Anon112]

I would keep waiting. I've told this story before, but I thought my hen maybe had eggs that weren't going to hatch. Panicked on day 27 and got her some chicks from the store. Took her "bad" eggs once she left the nest to care for the chicks and from one of the eggs: "PEEP!". I ran in and put them in the incubator and two of the three hatched!

It's true that at a certain point, it's not good for the hen. Do you know how many eggs she's sitting on? Have you marked them in any way to make sure eggs aren't still being added?

If you are very concerned about your hen's health after another 5 or 6 days, you could consider moving the eggs to an incubator.

But my main advice is to wait. My hen's eggs technically hatched on day 28.