false eggs - do they stop chickens laying?

[monkfish]

hello

have 5 5 month old chickens (one cock), 2 of which are starting to lay....very exciting even though it is winter. one of the hens is sitting on duck eggs, then lays her own egg, and then leaves the nest. i really dont mind, because even though the eggs are probably fertile, i dont want any babies at the mo. a friend of mine suggested to get a false chicken egg to keep her 'happy'....but will this stop her laying?

also, how do i stop my cockeral from romping my runner ducks?!.....they just dont run fast enough :S
is it because when i got them, they all grow up together?

 

[foxy]

You are better off removing any eggs you don't to want hatched out of the nest, this will stop her sitting and she will still continue to lay.
Regarding stopping you cockerel mating with the ducks you can't really unless you remove him or separate the runners into another run, which may be the better solution as he could cause an injury to the runners.

 

[Chuck]

It's better not to leave any eggs in the nest boxes for more than a day as they can get broken which leads to egg eating. If they are laying in the nest box, there's no need to put a fake egg in.

 

[chrismahon]

Only times you use 'pot' eggs (rubber ones are available now) is firstly in a cluster to encourage broodyness in a hen. When she is sitting, the pot eggs are replaced with hatching eggs, one at a time. Secondly to try and break an egg eating habbit, either by a hen or a predator. They bash the egg to break it and when they have a headache stop and never try again (in my experience). Otherwise the nest boxes should be kept empty by checking for eggs as often as possible, as Foxy and Chuck have said.

The cockerel and the ducks sound very confused. The cockerel thinks they are hens and the ducks think he is a drake. This is because they grew up together so don't know any better. Separating them is the only solution I can see -sooner the better because of potential damage to the runners.