Our chickens started a nest!!!!!

[cearalyn]

so we noticed today that our hens are starting to lay their eggs in a nest and a couple are getting broody and are sitting on eggs!!!! we baught ceramic eggs and put them where they usuatly lay and they it was only 2 or 3 days and they all started laying in one nest and they take turns sitting on the eggs!!!! we are so excited to finally say that our chickens are hopefully gonna hatch some babys !!!!! (we have 21 hens and 2 roosters)

 

[junebuggena]

Just because they all lay their eggs in the same nest does not mean that they will go broody. Broody hens do not take turns on the nest. What you are seeing is them sitting on the nest to lay their egg, not to incubate. Broody hens do not leave the nest. They sit on the nest day and night only leaving to get a quick bite of food and drink, then they are right back on and sitting.
Broodies stop producing eggs when they are ready to sit on a nest.

 

[cearalyn]

thats all our one hen does

 

[junebuggena]

Are you going to let her hatch?
If so, you need to make sure you give her eggs all at once, and mark them. That way, all the eggs will hatch within 24 hours of each other. You mark them so that you know which eggs she is incubating and which eggs the other hens have added. Remove all of the unmarked eggs each day. It may be a good idea to move her to a crate inside the coop so that she doesn't get stressed out by the constant traffic at her brooding site.

 

[cearalyn]

yes we r letting our hen hatch the eggs herself and we r getting ready to put a crate in the coop for her

 

[junebuggena]

Just be sure to mark the eggs you give her, and do not continue adding to her clutch. That way, when she gets up to take care of the hatched chicks, she's not leaving a bunch of half developed eggs in the nest to go cold and die.