a broody hen with another flocks eggs

[marenategoodman]

Hi all,
I only have two hens at my house. One of them just went broody. I have no rooster to fertilize the eggs. I have a connections to get some fertilized eggs. How long of a window do I have from once the eggs are layed to when I bring them to my house to put under my hen? After I put them under her how can I tell if there are babies in the eggs? Any other important information that I need to know to make this a success. Thanks to all who respond. I can use all the help I can get.

 

[sourland]

Most broodies will set beyond the normal 21 day incubation period so you have as much as a week or better of flex time. Do a search in this section on "candling eggs". This will show you how to determine if your eggs are developing. Trust me, the hen is genetically programmed to do this properly. All you have to do is WORRY for the next three weeks.

 

[Jocasta]

You should make sure that eggs you're setting under her are less than a week old. Viability drops dramatically after the first week. If you are storing the eggs before setting them, make sure you store them pointy side down, and turn them once a day to avoid the yolk sticking to the shell.

You don't really need to do anything with the eggs until they hatch, although as pp has said, you can candle them to chart their progress

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Quote:
good info.... store at room temp.... candle in 7-10 days afte placing under broody... at that point you should be able to see some veining! very exciting!