My chicken has started laying eggs but she is not setting on them.

[pr78sb]

Hi I am new to the chicken world and have a chicken and rooster together. She laid her first egg on Dec 6th and then a week after she laid another one. Unfortunately both of those eggs disappeared the following day they we laid (we are assuming by a predator) . We got her a nesting box and now she has 6 eggs with the first one being laid on Dec 26th. My issue is that it has been 3 weeks since she laid the 1st egg (that we still have) and she has not started sitting on them yet. She still has a good temperament and is not mean at all so I don't think she is broody? Is this normal?

 

[sourland]

What breed of chicken is she? Not all breeds tend to go broody.

 

[junebuggena]

Young pullets generally don't go broody. And just because you have a rooster, doesn't mean she will be broody either. Chickens don't lay eggs once or twice a year. They lay eggs constantly. Their egg laying is not tied to raising chicks, like it is with turkeys, geese, or wild birds. Collect eggs every day, and eat them or incubate them. A hen that's not broody will not sit and hatch eggs. Broodiness is hormonal, and some breeds are more prone to brooding than others.

 

[Majd]

Young pullets generally don't go broody. And just because you have a rooster, doesn't mean she will be broody either. Chickens don't lay eggs once or twice a year. They lay eggs constantly. Their egg laying is not tied to raising chicks, like it is with turkeys, geese, or wild birds. Collect eggs every day, and eat them or incubate them. A hen that's not broody will not sit and hatch eggs. Broodiness is hormonal, and some breeds are more prone to brooding than others.

100% true

 

[pr78sb]

They are Puerto Rican Kikiriki's. The guy we got them from says that they do go broody.

 

[junebuggena]

Just because they are a breed that tends to go broody, doesn't mean that yours will. It's generally best to not incubate those first eggs anyways. They tend to be too small to support the healthy growth of a chick. Wait till her cycles have normalized, and her eggs are a consistent size, usually takes a month or two. Then start collecting for incubation, that means storing the eggs fat end up. If she does go broody, spending 22-23 hours a day on the nest, slip a few of the freshest eggs under her. Eat any eggs over a week old. Leaving eggs sitting around in the coop isn't a very good idea.