Wondering if anyone is hatching eggs under a broody hen? Most post are about incubators but I wanted to see if anyone was doing it the old fashioned way? I set 10 eggs under my giant cochin hen who went broody. 6 BCM eggs and 4 EE eggs. My rooster is also a BCM so Im hoping to have a darker egg and maybe an olive colored eggs. She started sitting on 3/5. Im nervous about candling them too much, does it affect their hatch rate?
I've got two broodies with eggs right now. One has about 4 eggs and I think the other one has 5. I didn't intend to give them the eggs, before I separated them the other hens went and laid eggs in the nests they were occupying. So, I figure since they're staggered I'm not going to candle them and just let it be a surprise when the chicks start peeking out of the fluff. I don't see why it would hurt to candle them, I would just wait until at least day 10 so that you can tell for sure which eggs are developing and which aren't. Good luck with your broody hatch!
