Unknown hen brooding in backyard.

[Jessydny]

Hi. I don't raise chickens so I'm completely inexperience as to what's happening. Through reading, I've gathered that this hen which we found hiding in the back of our house is brooding. Sometimes the chickens from other houses come to our house and hang out. We've always welcomed them but keep our distance not to scare them off.
We decided to let her continue her process and hopefully adopt some chicks too.
Today we put some food and water near her because didn't seem to move since yesterday but today in the afternoon she started moving the eggs out from under her and it's quite a few so I got worried. Maybe my interference caused a bad reaction. Here are some pics and the change from yesterday to today. I read from your site (thanks by the way) that some people tuck the eggs back under but since she doesn't know me, she might not like me touching her. She doesn't growl of anything just looks at me. From what I see these chickens roam free, no coop or anything so they may not be very trusting of people. What do you suggest?

Thank you in advance & Happy New Year

 

[Kikiriki]

It was nice you gave her food and water!

 

[Pyxis]

! Congrats on becoming a chicken owner! If you decide to keep her and the chicks, she will need a secure area to raise them, and eventually they will need a coop. Do you know if there are roosters around and that the eggs are definitely fertile? Don't worry about the hen shifting the eggs around, they do that, and if an egg is bad most times they know this too and kick it out of the nest so that it does not explode under them. Giving her food and water was a good start. Is the area she is in safe from predators? If not, I would fence it off at least to give her some protection. Here is an article on broodies if you would like to know more about the process:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks

Do you know how long she has been sitting? Eggs hatch 21 days after the hen starts sitting.

 

[Jessydny]

Thanks for replying. I don't know anything about her. We found her by accident yesterday looking around the back of our house. She was hiding behind some things against the wall of the house. I do think the eggs may possibly be fertilized because I hear a rooster around.
The space is too small to build a fence but we'll get her a coop soon to protect her.
Do you think she'll get angry if we try to move her? I don't know how much interaction I should be having with her. I'll read the suggested material. Thanks.

 

[Jessydny]

This is her today. I named her, lollipop.

 

[Pyxis]

Very pretty, and cute name! I don't know if I would move her - some broodies don't take well to that and stop brooding or refuse to sit in the new nest. If she tolerates you pretty well, go out at night when she's sleeping and shine a bright flashlight through one of the eggs that's underneath her. If she's been sitting long enough and it's fertile, you will be able to see the baby chick inside. It looks like she's on stones, which is probably pretty uncomfortable. Broodies get up once a day to eat, drink, and poop, so during that time if you wanted to put some hay down under the eggs for her I bet she'd be a lot more comfortable there. You could probably even get away with putting the eggs in a dog crate in hay in the spot she's in and she'll go it to sit. I've done that before with multiple broodies who were not sitting in a safe spot.

 

[bobbi-j]

I'd just let her be and see what happens.

 

[Jessydny]

All the advice is helpful. I'd def like to make her my own so @pyxis tomorrow I'm going to start getting hay or something (maybe dry grass there's a lot around me) to put in there with her. I'll probably put it in there to aside and see if she organizes it, if not I'll intervine. In the meantime I'll start getting a coop together and as Bobbi-j said , just see what happens. And try to learn as much as I can. Since I took that last pic she's been moving the eggs around a bit.
How much should she be eating?

 

[Pyxis]

They don't really eat as much when they are brooding. That's why brooding is so hard on them. They only get off the nest once or twice a day to grab a quick meal and drink, and poop, and then they are right back on.

 

[Jessydny]

I noticed around 1pm that she left the eggs and hasn't returned yet. I'm a lil worried about it. I felt a few of the eggs and they were warm. What should I do if she doesn't return?