trying to let hen sit on eggs

[davimi]

We decided to let our hens hatch some eggs. Once they sit on the eggs...will they lay other eggs in a different place, so not to mix them?

 

[teach1rusl]

First, do you have a broody hen, one who won't leave the nest??? A hen will not just sit on eggs; she has to be broody. She will stay on the same clutch of eggs, although she may end up with others' eggs under her too if they squeeze into that nest to lay, or if she's in a place where she has access to "steal" others eggs.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Once they start setting, or go broody, they might lay 1 or 2 more eggs & then take a break while she incubates her new family.

 

[davimi]

I have noticed that there is at least 1 hen that is broody...I always have to lift her up to get the eggs from her. There were three eggs in the nest this morning(we have 4 hens total), no one was sitting on them yet...I'll check later and see what they are up to.

 

[Hotwings]

Once a hen goes broody and she has a clutch of eggs she will go into amost zen like trance. Some don't even hardy get up to eat or go to bathroom. A true hen that is broody will object to handling her or the eggs, some may growl or even peck at you. I would separate her from the rest of the flock (maybe a cage), make sure she has food and water close by and wait for 21 days to have the eggs hatch. Candling eggs is a good way to check to see if they are developing. You can probably handle her at night more easily. Good luck.

 

[davimi]

She has kinda growled at me when I lift her up to get the eggs. I didn't know if I should just leave her with the others, or if it is best to separate her. What are the pros and cons of each?

 

[cletus the rooster]

1 con would be reintegration.i would leave her and see how it goes.i personally have had no problems and she is doing fine with her brood of 6.

 

[Kittymomma]

I think the best of both worlds is to leave them in the main coop but close off an area for the broody hen that the others can't get into. Other hens cramming into the broody's nest can result in broken eggs and they'll also lay their own eggs in her nest. She won't stay on the nest until all the eggs hatch, just for a day or two after the first chick hatches so if the other hens keep laying in there you'll have a bunch of paritally incubated eggs that will die when she gets off to care for the chicks that already hatched.

 

[dawnchick]

Quote:
We have hatched chicks with a broody several times, and this is our method. Another advantage is you should feed starter/grower, not laying feed, to the chicks, which the other hens will want to eat rather than their laying feed. With our setup, they can ell see each other, and the chicks can even go out into the main pen til they outgrow the fence holes,and integrating when the new ones are pretty well full size has never been a problem.