Will she keep sitting after the first ones hatch?

[roo-many]

Hi! We have our first ever broody, a Silkie. When she went broody, I marked the four eggs she was sitting on. When I checked on her the other day, there were fourteen eggs! I guess the others are laying in her spot when she gets up once a day? Last night, I candled eight of the newer eggs, and five were fertile! I am not going to bother her anymore, but my question is, will she keep sitting after the first ones (whichever were fertile of the original four) hatch? Or will I need to remove the newer ones once the others hatch? Monday will be 21 days for those first ones, but I have no idea on the others.

 

[Folly's place]

That's a big problem when you don't isolate the broody hen. She may continue to sit for about three days, but then she'll likely be done, and the younger embryos will die. It might be possible to sort out some of the less developed eggs for another broody or an incubator, but be careful not to upset her too much. I only handle the nest in total darkness, with a small flashlight. Mary

 

[roo-many]

That's a big problem when you don't isolate the broody hen.  She may continue to sit for about three days, but then she'll likely be done, and the younger embryos will die.  It might be possible to sort out some of the less developed eggs for another broody or an incubator, but be careful not to upset her too much.  I only handle the nest in total darkness, with a small flashlight.  Mary

Ok, thank you! That is a bummer but honestly we are pretty full up as it is, so any chicks that hatch will be gravy, so to speak. I am really interested to see how she does as a mother. This was not a planned event

but we decided to watch and see what happens.