4+ week old RIR - pullet or cockerel?

[KappyFlock]

Unless the eggs are put into an incubator or under a broody hen, chicks will not develop.

The part that will grow into a chick (too tiny to see when the egg is laid) is naturally dormant at most temperatures, and only starts to develop if the temperature is just right for long enough.

You do not have to worry about a hen sitting on them for a few hours, or about warm weather on any particuar day, because it takes more than that to get them started.

I would estimate at least 2 days of incubation before you will actually see anything in the egg, even if you crack it and look fairly closely.

If you ever DO want to hatch eggs, just collect them each day, and keep them safely in your house until you have the number you want to hatch (room temperature, not refrigerator). Then put them all under a broody hen or in an incubator, and they will all start developing at the same time, and all the chicks will hatch about the same time.

Thank you for this explanation! This is really helpful and is what I will tell my husband.

This is interesting about the eggs "keeping" until they get triggered by a hen or incubator. That is amazing actually.

 

[KappyFlock]

I just wouldn't talk about it. It's purely psychological. Just like people that will only eat white eggs because brown ones are "stroger flavored". They're not - they're exactly the same.

Well, he does eat either white or brown eggs without a second thought, so maybe there's hope for him. haha

 

[NatJ]

This is interesting about the eggs "keeping" until they get triggered by a hen or incubator. That is amazing actually.

It is quite common with bird eggs.

That lets the female lay one egg each day until she has the right number of eggs, then she can sit on the eggs until they hatch, then she can take care of the babies. She doesn't have to worry about eggs getting cold while she's trying to raise the ones that already hatched, because they all come out at about the same time.

Each baby chick uses the egg white as it grows inside the egg, and it absorbs the yolk just before it hatches. That provides enough food for about three days, so the chicks can wait in the nest while any slowpokes finish hatching. (It also means people can ship just-hatched chicks through the mail, and they do not starve on the way.) Eating sooner does not hurt the chicks, but waiting a bit does not hurt them either.

Chickens (and birds in general) are very different than mammals, and some of the differences are really fascinating!

 

[KappyFlock]

It is quite common with bird eggs.

That lets the female lay one egg each day until she has the right number of eggs, then she can sit on the eggs until they hatch, then she can take care of the babies. She doesn't have to worry about eggs getting cold while she's trying to raise the ones that already hatched, because they all come out at about the same time.

Each baby chick uses the egg white as it grows inside the egg, and it absorbs the yolk just before it hatches. That provides enough food for about three days, so the chicks can wait in the nest while any slowpokes finish hatching. (It also means people can ship just-hatched chicks through the mail, and they do not starve on the way.) Eating sooner does not hurt the chicks, but waiting a bit does not hurt them either.

Chickens (and birds in general) are very different than mammals, and some of the differences are really fascinating!

Oh, this makes sense! How else would a mama hen have a bunch of little chicks at the same time? Thank you thank you

 

[Sussex19]

I just want to way that I usually only have 5 or 6 hens to a rooster, and haven't had any problems with it. Also, I eat fertile eggs all the time, and have never noticed any difference, so there's nothing to worry about there.

 

[KappyFlock]

I just want to way that I usually only have 5 or 6 hens to a rooster, and haven't had any problems with it. Also, I eat fertile eggs all the time, and have never noticed any difference, so there's nothing to worry about there.

Thank you! I am thankful for everyone's responses here. It seems my list of rooster worries has been whittled down to understanding and managing rooster behavior. It helps to be able to focus my learning on that one topic.