One of my hens has stopped sitting on her eggs. She has laid 6 and started sitting on them after the 3rd was laid. She rarely left the nesting box for 10 days and for the last 4 days she has hardly been in there?? She has moved the eggs out of the concave bit and lined them all up around the sides of the box?

 

I am presuming the eggs will be no good? If this is the case how long should I leave them in there. The first was due to hatch this Wednesday.

Throw them out Denise. They will be no good now. Once incubation has begun the temperature must be pretty constant apart from short break like 15 to 20 minutes. These eggs will be no good now. Usually a hen will discard "dud" eggs or another reason for stopping incubation is if the hen herself isnt "well" and she will abandon the eggs to get herself healthy. You must assess the hen and if you dont think she's up to it, give her a little holiday.

Are the eggs fertile if not, that may be the reason she left them.If they are fertile

give her an other try,only this time leave her with only 2 eggs & foster the rest to another hen.

That way if she leave the nest,you only loose 2 eggs.

Don't chuck them out just yet. My Saffy abandoned her second clutch after she had been incubating them for a good week. left them for three days and theyw ere stone cold. i put them under another budgie and all 4 that were fertile hatched. Unfortunately 2 dyed because the foster mother couldn't feed more than 5 babies and she already had 2 of her own and another fostered babies. But the two that did hatch and survived are Alo and Kito. So candle them and give them another chance.

Throw them out Denise. They will be no good now. Once incubation has begun the temperature must be pretty constant apart from short break like 15 to 20 minutes. These eggs will be no good now. Usually a hen will discard "dud" eggs or another reason for stopping incubation is if the hen herself isnt "well" and she will abandon the eggs to get herself healthy. You must assess the hen and if you dont think she's up to it, give her a little holiday.

 

 

I took the eggs out, cracked them all open. 5 were just yolks and one had some blood in it. I watched the hen and decided to put her in the aviary with the others, she is only 15 months old so I'll give her some more time and try her next year with hopefully a better result.