Wrong nest box!

[enoryz]

So yesterday I had a buff orpington hen who was on a nest. Not sure if she was sitting on eggs or trying to lay. She puffed up and made a lil noise. So I decided to put 7 eggs under her. This morning she was still sitting on the eggs. I got home today at 330 pm and she was sitting on the wrong eggs. So apparently she got out to eat and drink but went back on the wrong eggs. I took those 2 she was on and put her back on the right eggs.

My question is are those eggs still good for her to sit on being she got off and not sure for how long? Today it got to 80 degrees here.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings enoryz,

I only have one hen that will sit on eggs for the three weeks. She is quite the diligent mama. She's a little 4 pound game hen, so small, it's hard for her to defend her nest.

So, when she decides she wants to sit on eggs, I move her and the nest, very gently, to another pen with a little maternity house/coop. She is very happy there, no interruptions from other hens wanting to lay their eggs. And when the chicks hatch, I don't have to worry about any other hens pecking at, or killing the chicks. The pen is totally enclosed, so she is safe from ground and aerial predators.

I just put a feeder and waterer in the pen for her, and she also gets a special vegie and fruit treat each day. At that time, she takes her break and eats, poops, does a quick dust bath, then, it's back to sitting.

It used to be the old rooster pen, but with a feminine touch (a dish tub nest), it is now the maternity coop.

So, this is what happens at my place; I hope this was helpful.

God Bless

 

[bobbi-j]

Do y'all think the eggs are still good for her to sit on? I have a separate pen I can put her in but no coop and no way to keep her safe there. I would have to build something real quick and in a hurry. Don't know if could get everything I need to make it predator safe.

Then I would leave her where she is. You could possibly take her out of the nest box and place her in a nest on the floor. I have done that with hens that insist on setting in the nest box. Sometimes ir works, sometimes it doesn't. I have not had problems with other hens harming the new chicks because the mamas are so very protective.

The onl way to know if the eggs are good is to let her keep sitting on them. You can candle them in about 10 days to see how many are developing. I've had hens do the same thing for unknown amounts of time in colder weather than that the eggs still hatched.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you choose to let her set, I would block her and her eggs off from the rest of the flock, obviously in a safe spot. That will prevent any further wrong nest mishaps. You should also mark all of her eggs to prevent any confusion. The eggs she started are most likely still viable. You do have a roo, don't you? And you have checked your eggs to see if they are fertile???

 

[enoryz]

I also think that maybe she got off to go eat and drink and when she came back there was another hen on the nest because there were 2 more eggs in there. Should I separate her from the coop with her eggs?

 

[bobbi-j]

If you are going to separate her, I've had the best luck separating within the coop if you have room. I can close off 1/3 of my coop so I can put food and water in for her (but far enough away that she has to get off the nest to eat and drink) and she has room to get up and stretch her legs.

If you choose to leave her where she is, you need to mark the eggs that you want her to hatch and remove extras every day. Otherwise you'll end up with a staggered hatch, and that often doesn't go well with a broody.

 

[enoryz]

Do y'all think the eggs are still good for her to sit on? I have a separate pen I can put her in but no coop and no way to keep her safe there. I would have to build something real quick and in a hurry. Don't know if could get everything I need to make it predator safe.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Well, maybe you can do as bobbi-j, suggested.

Put her on the eggs, there's every chance they are still viable with the warm temps you've had. At worst, they just don't hatch. But, you can candle them to check on the progress. Hen's are pretty good at tending to their eggs.

I'd go for it!

 

[enoryz]

I got rid of my standard roo and have 2 bantam rooster s. I put 6 bantams eggs and 1 egg from my white standard cochin. I've seen the black cochin bantam rooster on top of her. I figured I would give it a shot. This is my first time trying to hatch.

I actually can put her on the floor of the underneath of the coop. I closed that in for some ducks but got rid of them. No way to block it off now where she is.