I'm going to be breeding three of my hens soon and incubating their eggs to grow my flock and start some for a few of my friends and I would just like some help. I've done a lot of research but I'd like tips from people who have done this before and I have a few questions. My first question is if a hen is bred and goes broody when would she stop laying eggs? I know that when a hen goes broody she stops laying but that doesn't seem right if she stops laying after one egg and sits on it. Does she lay a clutch then stops?
Another question I have is more just some confusion from something I read, it said something like 'the eggs need to be set in the incubator at least ten days after being laid, does that mean the eggs can survive without warmth after being laid? This would be very useful to know because it could solve my broody hen problem.
I can't be around to get the eggs the second they are laid, so I was going to have my one of my hens go broody. Last fall my ornamental bantam went broody by herself but the eggs weren't alive so nothing happened. She seemed happy doing it so just let her for awhile and she seemed like a very good mother. She wasn't closed in because she's only around three other hens so when the other hens had to lay they would push her off and do their thing then she would just sit on the eggs they had laid. I was going to see if I can get her to do that again and have her sit on them when they were laid. I want to breed her too but I was going to wait until after I get all the eggs from the other hens but if she's not laying then I can't.
She stopped laying after she went broody last fall and just started again the other day, I'm assuming she only lays seasonally but I don't know. I'd be grateful for any help giving!
Another question I have is more just some confusion from something I read, it said something like 'the eggs need to be set in the incubator at least ten days after being laid, does that mean the eggs can survive without warmth after being laid? This would be very useful to know because it could solve my broody hen problem.
I can't be around to get the eggs the second they are laid, so I was going to have my one of my hens go broody. Last fall my ornamental bantam went broody by herself but the eggs weren't alive so nothing happened. She seemed happy doing it so just let her for awhile and she seemed like a very good mother. She wasn't closed in because she's only around three other hens so when the other hens had to lay they would push her off and do their thing then she would just sit on the eggs they had laid. I was going to see if I can get her to do that again and have her sit on them when they were laid. I want to breed her too but I was going to wait until after I get all the eggs from the other hens but if she's not laying then I can't.
She stopped laying after she went broody last fall and just started again the other day, I'm assuming she only lays seasonally but I don't know. I'd be grateful for any help giving!