New Chicken Momma

[NewChick252512]

Hey there everyone! I'm relatively new to this whole chicken coop thing. Right now we have an assortment of laying hens, sonive got just a couple of questions.
First, if we decided to keep eggs in the coop, would the ladies be able to hatch them on their own?? I have no idea how that stuff works, we've always gathered the eggs, but if at some point we decided to not gather them for some reason or another, or maybe just gatjered all, but 1 or 2 eggs from our collection that day, would the hens still sit on them to hatch?
Second, we had a black snack IN the nesting box yesterday, first one we've had in the year that we've had chickens. I'm okay with snakes as long as I see them, or if someone else is holding them, but if I don't know they are there it's a bit of a surprise lol! Guess I better get used to that though! Anyways, my question is do you guys just reach in and grab them??! I don't think I'm ballsy enough to do that so I'd have no idea on how to remove it when my husband's not here!

If you guys have any advice pleeeeease help me out!

 

[Kiki]

Do you have a rooster?
The hen will only sit on eggs to hatch them if she is broody.
And they will only turn into chicks in the egg if they are fertilized.

Snakes are no bueno.
They will eat your eggs.

Find the hole they are getting in through and fix it asap.

 

[Kiki]

What part of the world are you located?

 

[NewChick252512]

Do you have a rooster?
The hen will only sit on eggs to hatch them if she is broody.
And they will only turn into chicks in the egg if they are fertilized.

Snakes are no bueno.
They will eat your eggs.


Find the hole they are getting in through and fix it asap.

Yes we do he is one of the white and black speckled Cochin Roos, and he's still not super big yet, just curious for when we're ready to attempt it. Obviously not any time soon lol!

And our coop does have lots of holes unfortunately!

 

[NewChick252512]

What part of the world are you located?

We're in Kansas

 

[Cntry1958]

Don't go grabbing a snake if you don't know what kind it is. There are some that are deadly.

 

[ninjawesome]

Hi there and

! We're glad you could join the flock!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under NewChick252512

Welcome!

As KikisGirls has mentioned, to successfully hatch eggs under a broody hen you need the following:
1. Fertile Eggs.
2. A broody hen.

Leaving the eggs in the nest box might encourage a hen who is prone to broodiness to go broody and sit on them but that is only a might. Eggs left in the nest box might be an attractant for the snakes you seem to already have and also vermin [rats].

Depending on the breeds of hens you have, you may never have a broody or you could end up like me and have hens who are broody more often than not

Also, if you do have fertile eggs and a broody hen, if you leave her in the coop and not give her her own separate broody area, mark the eggs you have given her. She may steal eggs from other nest boxes or other hens may contribute to the eggs she already has and you could end up with a staggered hatch.

You might find this article in the Learning Centre helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/broody-hens

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[drumstick diva]

ACK I don't even want to write the S word.

Please do all your can to eliminate them - I know most people think they are great BUT, they eat eggs and also any chicks they can grab. It's a horrible way to die -swallowed alive.