My chickens won't sit on their eggs.

[Cake-decorator]

My chickens are 5 months old. Not all are laying. But the few that are, they don't seem to sit on them at night. I go out and the eggs are cold. Will this change? I have 23 chickens.

1 hen is protective when I go to gather the 2-3 eggs. So I left the first time 5 eggs laid yesterday in the nest, but this morning they were cold.

Was is the temperature that an egg should keep in the nest?

I'm new can you tell.

 

[Chirpy]

Hi and Welcome to BYC!

Ok, it sounds like you are wanting a hen to go broody and sit on and hatch eggs so you have chicks?

You pretty much cannot make a hen go broody, they just do it on their own and there is no way to know when they may do so. Some people say you can leave eggs in the nest and it will encourage a hen to go broody but I've not had that work so it's not a sure thing.

At this point, you need to collect your eggs every day and enjoy them for your meals. Until one of your hens decides she wants to be a momma - you won't get any chicks.

Also, do you have a Rooster? Is he old enough to be mating with the hens? If you don't, then none of your eggs are fertile and you cannot hatch them. If you do have an old enough Rooster then you could take the eggs into the house and hatch them in an incubator. Or, just wait until the day comes that a hen does go broody and then put eggs under her to have her hatch them.

 

[LocoPollo]

Also some breeds of chickens don't go broody at all. You have to incubate the eggs yourself if you want baby chicks.

 

[bigzio]

Yep, good information from everyone. It is a instink and can vary alot amoung the different breeds.

I've had a specific hen go broody 3 years in a row, and was depending on her to do the same this spring, however it never happened.

Hens may become broody and do a wonderful job as being mothers, and never become broody again!

You just gotta love those pretty hens!

bigzio

 

[Cake-decorator]

Quote:
Hi, Wow, I have sure learned alot here.
Yeah, I wanted to be a Grandma. LOL. I do wanted some baby chicks with their Mama. I did do this with the first few eggs collected about 7. But I noticed no chicken would sit on them, only if they're laying eggs. But I would collect the fresh laid eggs. I noticed another chicken making another nest area. So I left those too for the first day. This is when I discovered the eggs cold in the morning. This is when I asked the question.

So pretty much they just lay eggs and not sit on them. Only if a chicken becomes broody then this is all she does. Now will the broody chicken lay eggs too?

I just started collecting all the eggs since I got your reply. They make good hard boiled eggs. Delicious. Thanks for the advice

 

[ginasmarans]

yeah,it's a hormonal thing,but it tends to get triggered by the season and even other broody hens. It's getting a little late in the year for a hen to go broody,but that doesn't men it won't happen. Mine usually start around April and by August,I have had so many broodies they begin driving me crazy.

 

[dutchhollow]

Also, they won't start to sit until all the eggs are in the nest, so your one that is protective may be thinking about it, leave a few where she lays and see what happens, just mark them so you know what is old and what is fresh. They do this so they all hatch at around the same time, not spread out over a week.

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
The one question you didn't answer - you do have a rooster, right?

 

[MamaDragon]

You can also leave some fake eggs (plastic easter eggs, wooden eggs, white golf balls, etc.,) in the nest, continuing to collect the real eggs. If one of your hens DO go broody, then you can remove the fake eggs, give her what eggs you want her to hatch, and away ya go.

When I've had to move the nests, I put some of the plastic easter eggs in the nests to show the hens that This is Where you are now supposed to lay your eggs..... worked for us.

Good Luck!

Kathy

 

[Denali (Auntie's Shadow)]

Without a rooster, their eggs won't hatch. If you wish for the eggs to hatch, you must breed. As far as them not sitting on the eggs, like MamaDragon suggested: fake eggs. It's worked a lot, according to most websites and books. Good Luck!