# how to know if chicken is nesting?



## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

I have 4 regular brown hens and 2 ameraucana hens & 1 rooster. They are free range birds but I do have a nest box unit in the barn where some will lay their eggs. One of the brown hens always lays her eggs in one box and now & then stays in the box for long periods of time. I think she spends the night there. I stopped taking out her eggs a little while ago so now there are at least 9 eggs in there. How do I know if she's wanting to hatch them? Does a hen wait till there are a certain amount there before she stays sitting on them? Or doesn't she stay on them if she wants them to hatch? I'm such a newbie at this and really don't know how to tell when a hen is wanting to nest.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

A hen will lay about 1 egg a day for a while then start to sit. She waits to sit them until she thinks she has a good size clutch. She starts sitting them after that so that they all hatch on the same day. If she sat them as she laid them she would have one chick hatching a day for a week or more.


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## Frosty1 (Jul 12, 2011)

If a hen is setting, it's comb will get very pale. If the eggs are being set on they will get shiny after a while. If it is setting then it should stay on the nest all day for quite a few days. :thumb:


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## Mandara Farm (Sep 12, 2010)

I have some hens too, and when they 'go broody' it's really clear what their intent is :wink: They only leave the nest to eat. That's it. The rest of the time they're sitting. And they stay that way for weeks. I think it normally takes 21-22 days for an egg to hatch, so that's a lot of sitting!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> She waits to sit them until she thinks she has a good size clutch.


 I agree..chickens like to pick the amount of eggs they want to sit on..... she is awaiting that number and will set.... :greengrin: :wink:


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

I counted the eggs in her box and there's 14! She's certainly not staying setting yet and maybe she won't. How long do you think I should leave those eggs there in case she wants to set? And another question....does a hen keep on laying more eggs while she setting? or can she just quit laying for 3 weeks?


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

14 sounds like she might just be laying to lay. They usually lay 12 or so to sit. Give her a few more days.
She would stop laying once she starts sitting for a clutch to hatch together.


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