Sitting Hens Everywhere!!!

[tylure]

I am fairly new to chickens - three of our hens are sitting on eggs & we really don't want anymore chickens right now. We currently have (8) hens & (1) rooster and plenty of eggs daily for my husband & myself. Someone told me to put fake eggs under these girls - like plastic Easter eggs - they would sit on them for the term - and get on with life when nothing hatched. Is this so? Or what can we do for these girls, and us, - besides continuing to take the real eggs away or do the plastic egg sike-out!

lynnee

 

[teach1rusl]

If your hens are truly broody, you could take all their eggs away and they will still sit. Whether they give up the nest after 21 days or so and no hatching may or may not happen. Some hens will sit until eternity, which of course is not good for their health. If you don't want more chicks, I'd break them.
If possible, boot them off the nests and deny them access during the day hours over the weekend. You can pen them separately with food/water, but no bedding. Many hens will come out of their broodiness after 2-3 days of this.
In the future, I'd be sure to collect all eggs every day, as a pile of eggs often seems to trigger broodiness, although some hens will go broody at the drop of a hat, eggs or not.

 

[tylure]

Thank you for the advice - I will follow your tips & see what happens.

L