WestKnollAmy
The Crazy Chicken Lady
Quote:
Congrats on the first egg!
A word of caution, first pullet eggs are not the best ones to hatch out. Your girls need to be laying for a while so that the chicks can emerge strong and big. Pullets lay small eggs to start with which give the chicks little room to grow. Chicks can hatch weak and never thrive.
And to answer your question, no, she will not go broody just because the eggs are in the nest. Depending on breed, she may wait until next year to go broody. If you watch the girls enough you will notice when she starts to change in that direction. She will be more grouchy, she will fluff up a bit more and start making new noises. Often when another bird or you approach her she will raise her wings out a bit and fluff those neck feathers out and may lower her head.
Eggs can get cold before a hen sits on them. It can be as long as 3-4 weeks before they sit on them. Case in point, I have one Guinea girl, she was sitting on 21 eggs when I found her nest. Those eggs were complied over a matter of weeks since I am sure she did not lay every single day. The 15 I took from the nest were all growing, I left 6 for her. It works the same with chickens and ducks. One hen can produce enough for a nice nest and then sit on them. They will start incubating with the warmth from her plucked chest and slight humidity from her body.
Congrats on the first egg!
A word of caution, first pullet eggs are not the best ones to hatch out. Your girls need to be laying for a while so that the chicks can emerge strong and big. Pullets lay small eggs to start with which give the chicks little room to grow. Chicks can hatch weak and never thrive.
And to answer your question, no, she will not go broody just because the eggs are in the nest. Depending on breed, she may wait until next year to go broody. If you watch the girls enough you will notice when she starts to change in that direction. She will be more grouchy, she will fluff up a bit more and start making new noises. Often when another bird or you approach her she will raise her wings out a bit and fluff those neck feathers out and may lower her head.
Eggs can get cold before a hen sits on them. It can be as long as 3-4 weeks before they sit on them. Case in point, I have one Guinea girl, she was sitting on 21 eggs when I found her nest. Those eggs were complied over a matter of weeks since I am sure she did not lay every single day. The 15 I took from the nest were all growing, I left 6 for her. It works the same with chickens and ducks. One hen can produce enough for a nice nest and then sit on them. They will start incubating with the warmth from her plucked chest and slight humidity from her body.
