Sitting hen

[rwilliams296]

I am new to chicken reproduction. I have a Plymouth Rock that has been sitting for 2 + weeks. We were able to determine during the first few days she was sitting on only 2 eggs. One of hers, one from another hen. She is really protective so when she made a brief exit from her nest yesterday I noticed that she is now sitting on 5 eggs and I know that they are from my other hens. Don't know how they convinced her to get off of her nest so they could use....Egg production from my other 4 hens has really decreased. Spring is almost here. Days are getting longer. Could the one brooder be affecting my other hens? I'm also thinking about moving her, nest, and 5 eggs to a smaller coop..just for them. Is this a bad or good idea?

 

[Differentiation]

Moving her could be a good idea especially if you want to let her raise the chicks without having to worry about the rest of the flock.

 

[rwilliams296]

Moving her could be a good idea especially if you want to let her raise the chicks without having to worry about the rest of the flock.

Thanks for your response!

 

[chickens really]

I always move My Hen and eggs till hatched. I then wait till the Chicks are over 5 days and put back with Momma into the Flock. No one messes with a Momma and her Chicks. The intragration goes great..

 

[aart]

I am new to chicken reproduction. I have a Plymouth Rock that has been sitting for 2 + weeks. We were able to determine during the first few days she was sitting on only 2 eggs. One of hers, one from another hen. She is really protective so when she made a brief exit from her nest yesterday I noticed that she is now sitting on 5 eggs and I know that they are from my other hens. Don't know how they convinced her to get off of her nest so they could use....Egg production from my other 4 hens has really decreased. Spring is almost here. Days are getting longer. Could the one brooder be affecting my other hens? I'm also thinking about moving her, nest, and 5 eggs to a smaller coop..just for them. Is this a bad or good idea?

Welcome to BYC!
You should candle the eggs and remove the new ones,
them mark the ones that should be getting pretty close to hatching.
2+ weeks is close to the 21 days it usually takes for chicken eggs to hatch.
Most folks mark egg when they put them under the broody and then daily remove any others laid by the other hens.
I wouldn't move her at this point as it could 'break her broody mode'.

As to reduced production...do you free range?

 

[rwilliams296]

Welcome to BYC!
You should candle the eggs and remove the new ones,
them mark the ones that should be getting pretty close to hatching.
2+ weeks is close to the 21 days it usually takes for chicken eggs to hatch.
Most folks mark egg when they put them under the broody and then daily remove any others laid by the other hens.
I wouldn't move her at this point as it could 'break her broody mode'.

As to reduced production...do you free range?

I let them out of their coop a few hours every day. I don't think any of the hens are laying in the woods or under the brush. I usually notice them running back to the coop when the urge to lay hits them.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

How long was it that she had the two eggs, then had five? If it was more than a day or two, you may want to take out the early chicks, and put them in a brooder, because you don't want your hen to decide to stop sitting, when the others haven't hatched. And yes, you need to move the hen and eggs to a safe, secure spot where, ideally they can live until the hen weans the chicks. Make sure you move the hen when it's completely dark! This is very important.