Newbie question about broody hen and her eggs

[ashleyrae211]

I see in some youtube videos...and on tv, a hen that has many chicks following her. Those are all her babies? Do they lay a bunch of fertile eggs and sit on them when they are broody? I heard once they go broody they don't lay eggs until they have stopped being broody, so how do they have so many eggs to sit on?

 

[SpiritedFarm]

They lay the eggs over time and then sit on them all at once. i have seen hens with 12 or 14 babes. Sometimes other hens will lay in the same nest and then Momma just goes broody on them all.

 

[ashleyrae211]

Thank you!

 

[SpiritedFarm]

You are very welcome!

 

[jtyrrell08]

Our hens like to lay their eggs in the same nest box, so whenever our one hen gets broody she just sits on all of them. For our large hen she will hatch about 14 chicks. =)

 

[judsenn]

OR all your hens could lay in one nest and have 26 eggs in there and no one decides to play mama like my silly hens!