New with some egg and behaviour related questions. Please help me.

[Dansoy]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this intresting forum.

I bought a rooster and 3 hens last week and i love to watch them.

One of my hens laid hes first egg 2 days ago and now the other hens like to sit on it, is it ok to allow them? even the rooster sometimes takes a sit. I wonder if it can harm the egg or if its natural?
Maybe i should cover the basket? or should i hang 2 more baskets so they all have their own.
1 hen is older then the other 2.

I live in the Phillipines but my nationality is Dutch.
All my neighboors have chickens but its difficult to communicate with them because my visaya words are small.

please help me out, thank you!

 

[BonRae67]

It is natural for them all to lay on eachothers eggs. I would put up at least one more nesting box so the if you have 2 trying to lay at the same time they can. They won't hurt the eggs. Once and a while you may have a cracked one from someone stepping on them but that is normal. Welcome to BYC.

 

[Dansoy]

Thank you for your reply!, nice to hear its natural.
I will hang another basket tomorrow..(I hope they wont poop to much in it)
After laying howmany eggs will they actually sit on it untill chicks are born? Maybe it depends by breed(my breed is simply ''Native phillipine chicken''). After like .. 10 eggs? they will keep sitting and still laying another couple or?

 

[BonRae67]

I have seen hens sitting on up to 25. The amount that you want them to sit on is up to you. I personally would not let them sit on more than 10. But you definitely need more nesting boxes if you want a broody hen. Your broody will want to have everyone's eggs to sit on. Good luck with them.

 

[Puddin Fluff]

I agree with BonRae67.

Also, many people put golf balls or some kind of fake egg in the nest to try to help a chicken become broody (want to sit on the eggs). Not all chickens will do this and hatch eggs. There is also no proven way to force one to sit on an egg. The best you can do is make the conditions right. Put the nest in a darkened space, for your number of birds, two nest should be fine and don't be surprised if all of them try to get in one nest at the same time. Generally they don't poo too much in the nest. Occasionally they will but somehow they naturally tend not to poo where they lay.

BTW: There is a thread on here for folks from the Phillipines. You can search it in the box above. I don't remember the exact subject line.

ozpat is one of the folks on here that I know who is in the Phillipines.

 

[Dansoy]

Thanks! So its ok if 1 hen broods all the eggs untill they open? even if its not hers?

 

[BonRae67]

It is actually better, then they don't fight over who is sitting on what egg. I have 2 silkies doing that right now. Not a good success rate for the hatch.

 

[bobbi-j]

Until one of your hens is broody, there is no point in leaving the eggs in the nest. The eggs will not hatch just because the chickens sit on them occasionally. You will know when a hen is broody. She will refuse to get off the nest, flatten herself on the eggs, make growling noises and try to peck you when you reach under her to collect the eggs. Until you have a broody hen, you can put golf balls, fake eggs, old-fashioned doorknobs or even somewhat oval-shaped eggs in the nest to encourage your hens to lay in a particular place.

 

[Dansoy]

So untill one of my hens is broody i should just put my (4) eggs somewhere else untill shes broody?
Is it ok to place the eggs.. anywhere, like in my bedroom? and put them back somewhere next week.?

 

[nab58]

No, don't hang onto the eggs, eat them! Once your hen turns broody, you'll have more eggs for her to sit on.