I have a broody hen....but.......

[kimandrich]

Okay. I have 3 hens that are laying right now. We've been getting three eggs every day for a while now. We left early yesterday morning to get some stuff done, and I didn't even check to see if there were any eggs. My nephew went out there, while we were gone, got 3 eggs and called me to tell me that he put them in the fridge. He also said one of them is up there and she's going to lay another one! I was confused, because I knew they don't lay more than one a day. So, we got home, and 3 hours later, she's still up there.
So now I've figured out, she thinks she's setting on an egg, right? So, my boyfriend and I came up with an idea to take an egg out of the fridge, let it get warm outside and put it under her. We wrote "no good" on it, so we can take it back out from under her once we get some more eggs..but do you think it'll work? She's still up there right now and it's been 24 hours.
These are our first chickens, so we're not quite sure what to do!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

You can mark an egg or two, or try a golf ball for a couple of days until you get some eggs (some hens will know it's not an egg and toss it out, but others won't care). Other hens (the ones you are real die-hard broodies) will sit on an empty nest until you give them something.

 

[kimandrich]

Awesome, thanks!

Oh, and will she lay eggs while she's broody, too?

 

[sheila3935]

If she is broody she will not lay anymore til they hatch and she leaves the chicks.

 

[kimandrich]

Thanks!