Will broody hen "steal" eggs from other nests?

[Shadrach]

Personally, I candle the third day. Can't help myself. I've never lost an egg I did that with and I make sure to do it with hens I know won't leave the nest because of that. I also don't toss any until day 14

But if you aren't sure how the hen will react, then I wouldn't risk it

Then you should read this.
It's not to do with how grumpy the hen is, it's to do with egg development.
https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-635X2016000600001

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Then you should read this.
It's not to do with how grumpy the hen is, it's to do with egg development.
https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-635X2016000600001

Not entirely sure what that has to do with quick candling.

 

[gtaus]

It is really important that all of her eggs start incubating on the same day so they all hatch on the same day. They should be marked with a pen on the first day so you can collect any new ones that appear.

If other hens add eggs to her nest the hatch schedule will lead to dead eggs/chicks, eggs get broken, or she may even get confused and sit on the wrong nest leaving the eggs to die.

You still have time to fix this. You could candle the eggs under her and only leave the ones that appear to be about a week along in development OR give her new marked eggs.

I have no rooster, so I'm not concerned about hatching. Thanks anyway.

 

[gtaus]

Once a hen has set her clutch they should not be disturbed for the first three days at least.

Good advice for real fertilized eggs, but I have no rooster and therefore no fertile eggs.

 

[gtaus]

OK. There seems to a consensus that a broody hen will steal eggs from other nests. I'm just curious, how do they carry the egg(s)? Do they tuck them under a wing? None of the eggs have been cracked, so if they do take eggs from other nests, they must be good at carrying eggs. In my setup, there is no way to roll an egg from one nest to another.

Would love to actually see a hen carrying/moving/stealing an egg from one nest to another.

 

[leighshanks]

I just discovered my chicken was sitting on 21 eggs! I was wondering where they were going. Also, she was sitting on 3 rocks. Has anyone had a chicken sit on rocks? I thought maybe she was going mental. How do I break her of this?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Do you mean break her of sitting on rocks or stealing eggs or brooding period?

 

[aart]

I just discovered my chicken was sitting on 21 eggs! I was wondering where they were going. Also, she was sitting on 3 rocks. Has anyone had a chicken sit on rocks? I thought maybe she was going mental. How do I break her of this?

Broody will sit on nothing, it's a strong instinct.
How long has she been sitting?