Will they hatch?

[kruss]

About two months ago my hens (they free range) left their nesting boxes in the coop and began laying eggs in the hay in my barn. I collected them as usual and all was well until about two weeks ago when I noticed a dramatic decrease in the amount of eggs I got daily until there were no eggs being laid at all. I had decided they weren't laying at all until this morning I was cleaning out the coop and decided to see if possibly there were any eggs in te boxes. One of my hens was sitting on a nest and there were 16 eggs in it! I only have three hens so this is huge for me. I marked them so I would know which ones were old so I can collect any new ones they may lay. My question is so I leave these eggs in the nest and try to hatch them or toss them? Some of them have potentially been there for almost two weeks because that is when I stopped getting as many eggs in the barn. What would you do? It getting cooler here so I don't know if any baby chicks would survive. I'm in the southeast portion I the country.

 

[BantamLover21]

First of all, do you have a rooster? If not, the eggs won't be fertile, and will not hatch. Even if they are fertile, the hatch probably won't be all that great, as older eggs do not hatch as well as fresh eggs. Still, its worth a try.

It is really your decision as to whether to let the eggs hatch or not. If it were me, I would (who wouldn't want some baby chicks!). The mother hen should keep the chicks warm enough even in the cold. And if she doesn't, you could always confine her and her brood in a warmer place.

 

[kruss]

Yes I have three roosters. She has been on the nest every time I checked on her today and she is sleeping there tonight. I guess I will wait a few weeks and see what happens.