Age for hatching eggs?

[droy1028]

Hey guys! I was curious if anyone knew about what age I should wait until to attempt to hatch any of the eggs my girls lay. As I understand the first batches of eggs aren't the best for hatching. It's getting late in the year here in Michigan and will probably start getting cold soon, so if I was gonna allow a girl or two to sit on some eggs now would most likely be ideal. I have a RIR hen, BSL hen, EE hen, and a Golden Sebright hen who have all laid eggs that have proven to be fertile from my EE Cockerel. Hes the handsome feller in my avatar pic. Any pointers? Thanks!

 

[AlleysChicks]

Well you need a broody hen, you want eggs that are correct size for the breed. Small pullet eggs will develop but not ideal for hatching from breeds that should lay medium to large eggs.

 

[droy1028]

None have gone broody per say yet, both the RIR and BSL are quite "motherly" towards the rest of the flock and have been that way since they were chicks. They have always been the oldest and largest at the time we got them. I was going to attempt to "make them go broody" by using artificial eggs or leaving a small clutch in the box to encourage their hormones. Has that technique been proven effective?

 

[RWise]

It works here, sometimes, not every-time. Just keep adding a fake egg as you gather eggs (in a nest you want her to use)
I use eggs from girls that are at least 1YO, and prefer 2YOs. As said the egg size maters also, I only set certain hens eggs.
I also do winter hatches, and the chicks have been fine out scratching in the snow with moma.