What do i do with my eggs?

[rgn87]

My hen started laying last Saturday, and i don't think these eggs are fertile. I leave them in her nest box to encourage her to lay there but so far its a no go. What do I do with the eggs, besides the obvious eat them., How long can i leave them outside for her?

 

[duckyfromoz]

Mark them with the date each day. She may lay up to 20 or even more before going broody...and thats only if she does... with the dates marked you can remove some of the older ones on a regular basis- or once she starts to sit- to make sure she can cover them all. How long you can leave them depends alot on the weather. I once put some eggs from in the nest in the incubator in summer only to find that some had already started developing because of the high daily temperatures.

 

[rgn87]

How will i know if they are developoing? When will she go broody?

 

[Camelot Farms]

Have you seen your rooster doing 'the deed' with that hen?... edited to add.... scratch that.... Have you seen your drake doing 'the deed' with that hen?

lol

 

[Camelot Farms]

Quote:
She may not go broody. My ducks only brood in the cool days of Spring. Summer is not their favorite time to sit on a hot nest. They would rather be in the water.

 

[rgn87]

Yes I have seen the drake and the hen have sex, many times. What will the hen do when it goes broody?

 

[ChickenToes]

To check if the eggs are fertile, crack one open and look for the bullseye.

Leaving eggs in the coop probably isn't going to encourage her to go broody. Either she will or she won't, and July is certainly a bit late in the year for it. Also, certain breeds very rarely go broody. If she does go broody, she'll just sit on the eggs all day, except to take trips out to eat and drink.

 

[rgn87]

So basically I should just take the eggs inside and keep them? Does anybody know anything about Cayugas going broody?