Overzealous first time broody hen

[audfish7]

I found a broody Easter Egger chicken yesterday. She was hiding in the storage side of the coop behind a roll of insulation.

I wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting. Today I decided to be curious and candle them/add some extra hay since she had hardly any in there with the eggs. She's sitting on THIRTY TWO eggs. Yikes! They appeared to be at maybe day two/three. I obviously need to cull eggs. How might you make the decision and how many should I leave her with if I want five or six chicks? And what do I do with the ones I cull? It makes me sad. but I really don't want that many chicks. I guess I could pop them in an incubator and advertise then as free once they hatch.

 

[Manningjw]

I found a broody Easter Egger chicken yesterday. She was hiding in the storage side of the coop behind a roll of insulation.

I wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting. Today I decided to be curious and candle them/add some extra hay since she had hardly any in there with the eggs. She's sitting on THIRTY TWO eggs. Yikes! They appeared to be at maybe day two/three. I obviously need to cull eggs. How might you make the decision and how many should I leave her with if I want five or six chicks? And what do I do with the ones I cull? It makes me sad.

but I really don't want that many chicks. I guess I could pop them in an incubator and advertise then as free once they hatch.

How many chickens have been laying eggs there? If she has laid all of them, then probably only the last 10-12 have a chance to make it.

I wouldn't leave her with more than 12-15 eggs or however many she can successfully cover. As to which to cull, I don't have a good answer for you at such an early stage of development. I think your best bet would be to leave her with 12ish eggs and toss the rest in the incubator, cull at day 10 or so - you probably will be left iwth half or less that you can just place under her.

 

[audfish7]

I did exactly this. I took 20 of her eggs and put them in an incubator. (I took eggs from the outside of the clutch that felt cooler to the touch) I left her with 12. I'll candle them all again at day 10 for progress.