- Sep 3, 2008
- 15
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Hello!
We have 4 hens + 1 rooster. Two of the hens have been sitting on eggs (we believe some are theirs + some are the others). It has been about 2 weeks...
We'd love to have baby chicks, however, we're not sure of the process. First, should we continue to let the hens sit on the eggs in hopes that they hatch? (21 days?) Is it necessary to check if all of the eggs are fertile (not sure if we can even get the hens off of the eggs, they both get feisty if we attempt to go near their nesting boxes. Will non-fertile eggs in the bunch hinder the prospect of baby chicks?
If we are lucky + the eggs hatch, (they are all together in a chicken coop) do we need to separate the chicks from the hens and rooster immediately? Will the mother hen take care of them?
Just curious, if a hen is sitting on the eggs, I assume she stops laying an egg daily?
Thanks for any help!
We'd love to have baby chicks, however, we're not sure of the process. First, should we continue to let the hens sit on the eggs in hopes that they hatch? (21 days?) Is it necessary to check if all of the eggs are fertile (not sure if we can even get the hens off of the eggs, they both get feisty if we attempt to go near their nesting boxes. Will non-fertile eggs in the bunch hinder the prospect of baby chicks?
If we are lucky + the eggs hatch, (they are all together in a chicken coop) do we need to separate the chicks from the hens and rooster immediately? Will the mother hen take care of them?
Just curious, if a hen is sitting on the eggs, I assume she stops laying an egg daily?
Thanks for any help!