Today was A new chicken experience

[TexasSam]

When I got home today went to check on the chickens I normally do this every day before I head in. I have A broody setting on 8 eggs but for the last week one of the other girls have been helping her. At first I thought this was strange but I read about others having the same thing happen. Today when I went to check I noticed stepmom was I A different box sitting. I thought oh no you're not sitting on another batch 8 is enough for my first try. So I picked her up to take the eggs and found something weird. She was setting on A marked egg and A new egg. What I'm saying is she robbed an egg from the first batch and moved it one box over and laid A new egg next to it. Does this normally happen? Can chickens carry eggs?

 

[Ste]

They can roll eggs. I know mine do anyway.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Yup, I had a broody Wynadotte, she'd collect all the eggs under her (5). No Roos & I collected every day much to her complaining. She ended up in "broody jail" for a couple of day.

 

[chickens really]

Yes....Before I got my Brooders set up for my two Broody Hens I marked the eggs with two different coloured markers..They were setting in my nest boxes that are a foot off the ground....When I went to move the Hens and eggs into the Brooders, the one Hen had stole 3 of the marked eggs...They can carry eggs under their wings....

 

[N F C]

Looks like you have an "egg-napper" on your hands

 

[21hens-incharge]

You are not crazy. Mine have moved eggs from an upper nest to a lower nest.

They are better problem solvers then one would think.
The miracle is they move them without breaking them.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I was not aware they can "carry" eggs Learn so much from BYC members

 

[lazy gardener]

When I got home today went to check on the chickens I normally do this every day before I head in. I have A broody setting on 8 eggs but for the last week one of the other girls have been helping her. At first I thought this was strange but I read about others having the same thing happen. Today when I went to check I noticed stepmom was I A different box sitting. I thought oh no you're not sitting on another batch 8 is enough for my first try. So I picked her up to take the eggs and found something weird. She was setting on A marked egg and A new egg. What I'm saying is she robbed an egg from the first batch and moved it one box over and laid A new egg next to it. Does this normally happen? Can chickens carry eggs?

While it's not uncommon for a broody to steal eggs from an other box, I believe the un marked egg was deposited by an other hen. Usually, broody hens stop laying before they start setting. The issue of her moving from one box to an other while she is setting a clutch of eggs is why many folks keep their broody in the coop, but blocked off from the rest of the nest boxes. I have a broody cage set up. Currently, it is open and the whole flock uses it, but if I have a spring time broody, I can block it off, and give her an area that is about 2.5 x 4' with outside access.

 

[TexasSam]

Yes....Before I got my Brooders set up for my two Broody Hens I marked the eggs with two different coloured markers..They were setting in my nest boxes that are a foot off the ground....When I went to move the Hens and eggs into the Brooders, the one Hen had stole 3 of the marked eggs...They can carry eggs under their wings....

Crazy never knew they could do that

 

[TexasSam]

I was not aware they can "carry" eggs Learn so much from BYC members

I just learned that to when she did it I was amazed