[little blue]

after several days of booting out Mrs Light Sussex to try and stop her brooding, which she wasn't that bad about....  she has got herself a RIR egg and is now really determined to be broody.
We're hoping this will be a fertile egg, so are letting her sit.

it seems abit daft sitting just one egg, but I'm not sure about adding eggs to her, as the time I assume she would have been laying her clutch, I was taking her eggs & sending her outside.   

 I've failed to get any hatching eggs locally, and as its now a weekend,if I get some off flea-bay it could be another week before she can have them.
How long do you think she will sit, if I add eggs? will she lose interest when the older one hatches and leave them?
Will she accept new eggs?
 

...if you hadnt realised, we've not had broody hens before, just warrens and an incubator!

I've also got a broody Maran, but there's no cockerel in with them so I'm shifting her regularly and telling her not to be so silly!     

[Roxy]

The broodiness bit is not an issue, they are broody for a number of weeks after hatching chicks.  If it was only a day or so, and you added more eggs, fine ....but a week is a long time.  Its a third of the way through for the other egg.  Then hen will sit for a day or two after chick has hatched to see if any more arrive, but doubt she would sit another week.

You either just sit the one egg, or dispose of that and sit her on some more.  I have lots of fertile eggs, but they will be of mixed breeding with either a light sussex or a copper black maran as the father!!

[sam.t]

agree with wats said above but if you decide to add eggs you just place them next to your broody and she will push the eggs under herself
sam

[little blue]

update, she's got three now - the Rhodies finally laid!  So we'll see how she gets on....

I think I'll get the incubator warmed up ready when number one hatches,in case we need to pop the others in there.

thanks Roxy, I'll stick with these for now... there's enough cross-breeds here already!
thanks Sam.  she's done a good job of that with these others too

[Roxy]

Fingers crossed you get a good hatch from your eggs.

I am very disappointed with my pure bred hens, the hybrids and cross breeds can knock spots off them in the laying department.  I enjoy Hatching - to see what colours I get for one thng.

[little blue]

well, they'll be either LS x RIR or RIRs, depending who's laid the most!
shifted her over abit tonight ... there's definitely 3 eggs under her.  And I'm sure she'll nab any the others lay - though they're keeping their distance!!