my first chicken

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alexmcduffie

alexmcduffie

Hatching
May 18, 2015
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Hello my name is Alex and I will be 10 next month. I finally got my first chicken last month. My dad said I've wanted a chicken since I was 3years old....My mom just found 11 eggs under the bush but we don't know how long it's been there or if its safe to eat.

Please help me in raising my chicken.

Thank you!
 
First off, welcome! Congratulations on your first chicken. You'll have great fun with her. Maybe try to convince mom and dad to get a few more! Generally, chickens will lay an egg a day or every other day, depending on the breed. So, the oldest egg in that batch under the bush could be around 11 days old. I wouldn't eat them to be safe. Try putting some eggs in a nest box in your coop or cage to try to get the chicken to lay there. Please ask questions. We'll be absolutely happy to answer them. Good luck to you, my friend!
 
I wouldn't eat them especially if you have a warm climate, they could be spoiled. Does the hen sit on the eggs at all? Sometimes a hen hides a nest and when the eggs hatch, she'll bring them home for water and food. Otherwise I would discard the eggs and try keeping her confined in the coop or run, until she has laid an egg for the day. That way she can't hide it somewhere.
 
Forgot I wanted to say Hi Alex, nice to meet you. It's really great that you are ten and got your first chicken. You can also put a golf ball or two in her nest box, so she thinks they are eggs.
 
Thank you for the warm welcome!...Looking forward to reading a lot of helpful ideas on raising a chicken..So far the mother hen is not sitting on her eggs during the day. Is that normal?
 
We are in a process of building a coop. She doesn't sit on her eggs during the day. We recon she is there at night but will check on it tonight. By the way we are in Washington state.
 
alexmcduffie said:
We are in a process of building a coop. She doesn't sit on her eggs during the day. We recon she is there at night but will check on it tonight. By the way we are in Washington state.
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I have heard of hens vanishing for some time and returning with a bunch of babies. Some just think it best to make a "secret nest" for some reason. However, if she's acting normally and going about her business as usual during the day, she is probably not aiming to set and hatch out chicks. A hen who wants to be a mother and sits on her eggs to hatch them is called "broody." A broody hen will be on the nest for days, only getting up a couple of times an hour maybe. When you get close, she'll probably puff up and "growl" and maybe even try to peck you. If your hen isn't showing any of these signs, she probably has just found a spot she likes to lay her eggs.
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