Will my hen abandon her eggs?

[Thataussielady]

I have a hen and this is the first time I have let her sit on her eggs. Some of the eggs are at different stages of development (only by a few days) and I'm worried that when the first few hatch that she may abandon the rest of the clutch. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if she'll still sit on the eggs once the babies hatch.

 

[spotsplus]

Typically a hen will lay an egg a day until a full clutch is laid. During the egg laying time she will be off the nest a lot because she's not incubating yet. Once the clutch is fully laid she will sit on them all the time and the incubation will begin so that all the eggs develop pretty close together so that they hatch very close together. You can't tell if a hen will leave the nest before all the eggs are hatched. Sometimes if you have an egg or two that hatch a day or two later and mom is already away from the nest you can help the chick by giving her the chick once it's dry and able to get around by itself. This is why it's a good idea to have a hen and her nest (and chicks) in a somewhat small area. Just incase there are some late hatchers, she doesn't get too far from the nest.