Don't know if I qualify to share or not, but maybe you guys can relate. If not, let me know, I'll take this down.
First flock - 4 red sex-link, 6 prairie bluebells, 3 starlight green eggers, an olive egger and 2 buff orpingtons. No breeds known for broodiness except my BOs. One BO dies a month or two after starting to lay - never broody. Second BO is over a year old now, lays elongated/mishapen eggs every 2-3 days, never gone broody. The only broody I've had is, of all things, a starlight green egger.
Only two of my 3 SGEs actually lay green eggs, and one of them tried to go broody twice last year with awful timing (weather, etc). This year I actually let her set, and the brooding is in progress. 3 of 5 eggs were busted up by other hens(?) in the first 3 days so I partitioned off the run where she was sitting so they couldn't bug her anymore. The remaining eggs are covered with dried yolk and dirt, so not sure they're viable. So I gave her 4 more. The busted egg mess was so bad, I put a new nest box in the old spot and put her eggs inside. But she refused to go it, because it was a different color. So then I moved her eggs to the nest box right beside the first one, identical to the first nest box, but next to it. She was okay with that, and accepted the new nest location.
Will she have a staggered hatch? Will the first two babies make it? If the first babies make it, will she abandon the rest? If I hatch the other 4 in the incubator and tuck them back under her at night, will she accept them? Will she be a good mom to her chicks?
All important questions with no answers yet... Friday is the first hatch day, so we will see...
Crawling under the chicken wire is a PITA poop filled adventure, so I haven't candled any of the eggs. Figured she'd kick them out of the nest if they're not healthy? Would love to move the broody and her eggs to a wire dog crate, but afraid she'll break. Next time, I'm definitely going to have to plan this better...
Broody of unproven ability is in the red bucket.
For kicks and giggles, there's also two pictures of the crazy chicken who decided to wedge herself inside the pallet (between the chicken wire and the pallet wood) because I walked towards her and she randomly decided I was terrifying. I had to reach inside, physically turn her around, and pull her out headfirst in order to not tear off all her feathers.
(don't worry we are joking I'm not actually being bullied), Welcome! Now for your questions, if the second batch of eggs is due days apart then yes, most likely she will abandon them. It's also a gamble as to whether she'll accept the chicks later. It all depends on how close the two dates are
