FERTILITY

CHELS1164 said:

My peahen laid 5 eggs and is sitting on them. But my male is only 2 can her eggs still be fertile?

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CHELS1164 said:

My peahen laid 5 eggs and is sitting on them. But my male is only 2 can her eggs still be fertile?

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Garden Peas said:

How old is your peahen? How solidly is she sitting those eggs? If this is her first year sitting on eggs, try not to disturb her... some hens will ditch the eggs if they get too bugged. Some will abandon them halfway through. This year is the first year that my hen has managed to hatch any on her own.

If the hen is doing a good job and only getting off the nest to eat once or twice a day, you may want to leave well enough alone, or figure out how to candle while she's off the nest. My hen caught me checking eggs and got thoroughly upset -- I waited out the rest of the time without candling or bugging her anymore. Eventually there were chicks with her, which was a pretty good indicator the eggs were fertile. Tincture of patience is hard to come by, but worth it.

Also, if you do have the possibility that she will hatch her own, make sure your pen is up to snuff. We had complete chaos with peachicks squirting through chicken wire and fencing, and mom stuck on the other side...

It's amazing how small they are the first few days.

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