New to chickens

[miwi1108]

I have had my babies for 7 months 2 of them just started laying. My question is if I leave their eggs in the nest will they sit on them and hatch the eggs? Or will they wait till spring to do so

 

[chickenlover09]

Do you have a rooster?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! What breeds are they? They may or may not, broodiness is hormonal / genetic and some breeds are much more likely to go broody than others. Most that do go broody are more likely to do so in the spring. There are some nice articles in the Learning Center on broody hens you might like to check out https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/broody-hens and https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/encouraging-or-discouraging-broodiness-in-your-hens

 

[sunflour]

so glad you joined us.

If you do have a rooster, most would recommend letting your pullets get older before encouraging them to brood babies.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

If you have a rooster and the eggs are fertile, and if the hens actually want to go broody, you may be able to hatch some eggs.

 

[drumstick diva]

You can't make a hen go broody and some breeds are more inclined to do so , like silkies, than others.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. The other members have asked some good questions and given you some good advice so I'll just say, please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting some broody hens and hatches.

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

 

[miwi1108]

I have 2 of each golden laced wyandotte,new hampshire,black australorp and I think the other 2 are araconas they are salt and pepper and lay green eggs. I do have a rooster I appreciate all the info. Any help I can get is greatly appreciated thank you all

 

[Michael OShay]

I have 2 of each golden laced wyandotte,new hampshire,black australorp and I think the other 2 are araconas they are salt and pepper and lay green eggs. I do have a rooster I appreciate all the info. Any help I can get is greatly appreciated thank you all

Your Araucanas are actually Easter Eggers rather than true Aruacanas, which have tailless rumps and lay only blue eggs. Easter Eggers are hybrids produced by hatcheries that lay eggs in colors other than just blue. Hatcheries frequently market Easter Eggers under the labels Araucana or Ameraucana (frequently misspelled as Americana or Americauna by the hatcheries). If you want to know more about the difference between Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers, there is a good article explaining the difference at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html. Our Easter Eggers are my granddaughter's (pictured in my avatar) favorite chickens. She loves their different colored eggs. Black Australorps are my favorite standard breed; extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of them), and excellent layers of large, brown eggs. You will probably be okay with only one rooster particularly if it's a docile breed. The recommended ration is 10 hens for each rooster and you are close to that ratio.