- Mar 28, 2014
- 38
- 20
- 97
Yes, I know there are 7000+ posts re: broody hens, but after reading quite a few of them, I had to stop and just post.
For the first time, we let one of our Iowa Blues, who is very young, go broody. She is sitting on fertile eggs, and we've never had this experience before so we decided let it play out (although I figure a black rat snake will end up with most of the eggs). She's doing fine, but here's the problem.
Yesterday, when I went out to feed them, she flew off the nest to eat. It gave me the opportunity to look at the nest, and lo and behold! there are now at least two dozen eggs! Turns out, the other hens are laying right along beside her, not interested in laying in the nest box right beside the one she is in (which is weird). She is just sitting there accumulating eggs.
Now we're not getting enough eggs to sell, and I have no idea which ones are fresh or which ones have been incubated for a while. Next time she is off the nest, I thought about marking them somehow, but I need advice on what to do now.
My first concern is for her -- is she ok sitting on that many eggs? I know my guineas lay that many and more, but I don't know for hens.
And we'd like fresh eggs for ourselves and egg customers.
Any productive advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
For the first time, we let one of our Iowa Blues, who is very young, go broody. She is sitting on fertile eggs, and we've never had this experience before so we decided let it play out (although I figure a black rat snake will end up with most of the eggs). She's doing fine, but here's the problem.
Yesterday, when I went out to feed them, she flew off the nest to eat. It gave me the opportunity to look at the nest, and lo and behold! there are now at least two dozen eggs! Turns out, the other hens are laying right along beside her, not interested in laying in the nest box right beside the one she is in (which is weird). She is just sitting there accumulating eggs.
Now we're not getting enough eggs to sell, and I have no idea which ones are fresh or which ones have been incubated for a while. Next time she is off the nest, I thought about marking them somehow, but I need advice on what to do now.
My first concern is for her -- is she ok sitting on that many eggs? I know my guineas lay that many and more, but I don't know for hens.
And we'd like fresh eggs for ourselves and egg customers.
Any productive advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
