They just started laying eggs but wont sit on them ???

esnil

Hatching
10 Years
Jul 17, 2009
6
0
7
HI, I wanted a few more chixs so i figured they would be better at incubating the egss but they are not sitting on them at all, these are first time egg layers and i am a first time chicken owner, they are amerucanas 1 roo and 12 hens, will the natural instinct kick in to sit on them ?

thanks
 
It is natural to sit on eggs, but only when they're broody.
You need a hen to go broody first.
You can tell because they will start sitting even if there is nothing to sit on, and will be a bit more cranky.
Once one goes broody you can put under some fresh eggs that haven't been refridgerated.
 
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First off,
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How many eggs are in the nest? As far as I know (someone please correct me if I am wrong), a hen will not sit on a nest unless she has several eggs.. It takes 21 days to incubate the eggs and if she sat on them as she laid them, the chicks would be hatching for days.. They wait til they have several eggs and then sit on all of them so they all hatch right around the same time...

Goddess
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Ameraucanas are only a mildly broody breed. I had some Easter Eggers for years - laid an egg almost every day and never, ever went broody. It depends on the hen, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
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It doesn't matter if you leave eggs out or not: when the hormonal urge hits them, they'll go broody even if they're sitting on nothing.

The first pullet eggs aren't usually the best eggs to incubate either. They're usually small and sometimes don't have a yolk, or a soft shell... It takes a while for their bodies to get the whole egg-laying thing.

If you want a broody machine, get a Silkie. Mine used to lay maybe 10 eggs then go broody, spend several weeks raising the babies, lay maybe 10 more eggs, then go broody again.
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They spend more time being broody than laying eggs.
 

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