What todo with my girl's eggs?

[JesusCoffeeandmychick's]

I know this my seem like a crazy question but I can not find anything to help me. How many days afther my my hens lay there eggs should I leave them in the coop? I have silkies and we are vegan..... I really just want to raise a army of silkies and would like it to be done in the most "natural" way possible. I have two hens and one rooster. Help please

 

[featheredplanets]

Unless they’re broody, they’ll just rot. You can feed the eggs and the shells back to the hens for a protein and calcium boost. Eggs should be collected everyday. If you want to leave a clutch in, as part of encouragement for broodiness, it’s best to leave some fake eggs in.

 

[JesusCoffeeandmychick's]

Unless they’re broody, they’ll just rot. You can feed the eggs and the shells back to the hens for a protein and calcium boost. Eggs should be collected everyday. If you want to leave a clutch in, as part of encouragement for broodiness, it’s best to leave some fake eggs in.

Okay so if they don't sit on the eggs right after laying then they won't be broody with that egg?

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I know this my seem like a crazy question but I can not find anything to help me. How many days afther my my hens lay there eggs should I leave them in the coop? I have silkies and we are vegan..... I really just want to raise a army of silkies and would like it to be done in the most "natural" way possible. I have two hens and one rooster. Help please

Collect your eggs daily if no hen is broody. Silkies make excellent mothers and have a tendency to go broody so you probably won't be waiting too long. If you don't want to eat any of your eggs just scramble them up for your girls. Happy chicken-ing!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

If I can presume that you aren't trying to make you chickens go vegan, then they would really enjoy eating the eggs.

Other wise... giving them away to people who will use them is always a great option! They may not be perfect size for recipes, but it's plenty easy to improvise and get that part right enough. And my friends and family enjoys eating them, same as any other egg. Maybe even giving to someone in your community who works hard to make ends meet but still struggles? Lot's of options.

I would NOT leave the eggs in the coop as it's inviting eggs to get broken and turn your birds into unwanted egg eaters, on top of the mess it creates. But in addition, could actually invite predators.

If your gals end up as broody as mine... they will lay 3 weeks or less worth of eggs and try to hatch and raise chicks back to back ALL year long! In which case, I suggest collecting your eggs daily, not washing, then storing them to wait for your broody and tuck under how many you want once she is stopped laying and sitting FOR SURE. If the eggs you first collect go past a week or so old, rotate them out and give to friends or neighbors or feed back to your animals. Store bought eggs can actually be between 30-90 days old! So one week is no big deal.

Also, I hatch my Silkie eggs... and sell chicks faster than I can hatch for $8-9 each, straight run. That will depend on your market... and some vegan people are extreme and don't even think we should keep animals, but that doesn't seem to be you. Seems with a Silkie army... that might be great option. It's not expected, but just a super bonus when it covers a lot of your costs for this wonderful hobby.

Hope you have a fantastic chicken adventure....

 

[1cock2hens]

welcome fellow vegan. I leave my eggs for a couple weeks and mark them, if a hen doesnt sit within a couple weeks i toss the oldest eggs to the dogs.
I used to take the eggs out daily and replace them with golfballs so the hen would think it had a nice little clutch going and when it went broody I would take the eggs I had been saving up and put them under her. then check them periodically/ candle them

 

[EggSighted4Life]

If you want to leave a clutch in, as part of encouragement for broodiness,

Leaving eggs will indicate it's still a safe location to lay... but has ZERO to do with broodiness. It is completely hormonal. My Silkie gals will go broody on AIR.

 

[1cock2hens]

I have never had a hen go broody without eggs present. it will not hurt anything to leave the eggs and let them build up a little pile. just mark them so you know how old they are. if eggs are still being deposited after your hen goes broody then you will need to remove the new unmarked eggs

 

[tash]

You can also give fresh eggs to friends and neighbors and keep them from buying factory eggs. I am vegetarian, but I never buy factory eggs. I know a lot of omnis who prefer to have backyard eggs because of the way the birds are treated.

Getting a special egg pan from the store and scrambling them for the girls to help with protein is a good idea too if you can stand the smell. Or maybe a baked egg thing with vegetables would smell better and they would love the veggies too (just no onion).

If they are fertile you could also sell them.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have never had a hen go broody without eggs present. it will not hurt anything to leave the eggs and let them build up a little pile. just mark them so you know how old they are. if eggs are still being deposited after your hen goes broody then you will need to remove the new unmarked eggs

I know we all have different experiences...

They (mine) will go broody on the egg they laid that day, and STAY broody when all the eggs are removed... maybe go try to steal someone else's eggs. This isn't just applied to my Silkies but also my large fowl.

I guess you don't have rats (even snakes for some people)... they are egg, chick, and chicken predators! So I disagree about leaving them. But we are all here to share our experiences.

I collect ALL my eggs EVERY day... and had broody's in the breaker or sitting ALL year long so far... including the dead of winter with the shortest days possible. The constant available nutrition means they don't have to avoid brooding in the winter they way they would in nature...

Really best thing you can do to encourage broodiness, in MY experience... is adequate nutrition not diminished by treats, plenty of space for your flock dynamics, secure housing and nest sites, minimizing predator and other stresses.

Eggs are a great source of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and protein. But beware they are about 34% protein and 60+% FAT. Should be fed in moderation.