sitting hens

[Bekalynn]

I have two hens that want to sit on their eggs. Well ine steals all the eggs. I have a hen that will keep getting in the box with the one that is trying to sit and it looks like she is trying to bully her. What should i do. I want my two hens to be able to sit and hatch the eggs.

 

[sourland]

Put a barrier in the box to separate them. And fix things so that other flock members can not access the nest sites an add more eggs. In my experience hens sharing a communal nest site generally leads to reduced % hatch rates.

 

[Bekalynn]

Thanks for the advice i will do that. I watched them that day and it seems like they keep stealing each others eggs. I dont care if they do that as long as one of them will do the sitting till they hatch.

 

[sourland]

As they move eggs back and forth, there is always the possibility of cracking or breaking. This happens more frequently with full size birds than with bantams At other times flat out fighting may break out resulting in destroyed nests and eggs, and at other times they get along fine.

I would never trust 'valuable' eggs in a communal setting situation.

 

[donrae]

I've also noticed the egg stealing means I don't have as many chicks hatch. I don't know if it's the excess movement, or the time out from under a hen, or tiny cracks I don't otherwise notice, but I don't get nearly as good a hatch as if I seperate the hens. Plus that way other hens can't keep adding eggs that will only be partially brooded and have to be disposed of

 

[Bekalynn]

How long should a hen sit on her eggs a day. I thought they were trying to sit but they spend too much time on the ground during the day instead of sitting. Maybe i will just wait till my little americanas get older so they can do the sitting. I heard americanas are real good brooders

 

[donrae]

How long should a hen sit on her eggs a day. I thought they were trying to sit but they spend too much time on the ground during the day instead of sitting. Maybe i will just wait till my little americanas get older so they can do the sitting. I heard americanas are real good brooders

If they're truely broody they usually only get off the nest once or maybe twice a day, for a minimum amount of time, like 20 minutes. To me the hallmark of a broody is sleeping on the eggs. If they're still roosting at night, they're not serious about brooding babies. If they're off the nest during the day, interacting with the other hens or mating, they're not serious (yet).