Are oldies really goodies? 🧐

[Hennyfromdblock]

Good afternoon everyone, I hope all is well. I couldn’t find anything in regards to my question so here I go. Has anyone tried/been successfull incubating chicken eggs after sitting out for a couple of weeks, possibly a month? If so how did it turn out? All I can imagine are eggs going bad but I mean there’s always someone out there that has done something we can only imagine .

 

[RiverOtter]

Hens lay for 2 - 3 weeks to get a good clutch to set on.

My personal best - I lost some chickens in a storm, naturally, it was a bloodline I'd been working on for years. I took a months worth of eggs out of the fridge and stuck them all in an incubator. I think 53 eggs, and 38 chicks hatched.

 

[BDutch]

Yes first they lay a clutch and if the hen get really broody she stops laying and sits almost permanent on the nest. This is the moment you start counting.
Sitting 3 weeks is normal. In cold weather or on a windy spot, it can take longer to hatch.
After 4 weeks it’s certain something is wrong. I would throw them away after 4 weeks.

 

[sourland]

I have kept eggs for as long as three weeks before incubating and had satisfactory % hatches.

 

[NatJ]

The most common advice: store eggs for up to one week before putting them in an incubator or placing them under a broody hen.

Older eggs will often hatch, but fewer will hatch and more will rot. The rate gets worse with time.

Storage conditions matter too. Too cold (like below freezing) will kill the embryos, so no chicks will hatch. Too hot (close to incubation temperature) will cause the embryos to start growing, but they die because it's not warm enough. For the in-between temperatures, I've read that eggs stay viable longer at the cooler end of the range.

 

[Hennyfromdblock]

Hens lay for 2 - 3 weeks to get a good clutch to set on.

My personal best - I lost some chickens in a storm, naturally, it was a bloodline I'd been working on for years. I took a months worth of eggs out of the fridge and stuck them all in an incubator. I think 53 eggs, and 38 chicks hatched

Well isn’t that one happy ending!
My whole curiosity began cause one of my hens started sneaking out of their run but I wasn’t aware of it. I found a huge clutch of her eggs, 18 to be exact. And when I found them I found her sitting on them. I wasn’t sure if she was actually trying to hatch them but now that I know they collect before sitting, it made sense. I thought we’ll how are they gonna hatch if they’re at day 18 already and little miss thing over here laying and going back home lol.

 

[BDutch]

@Hennyfromdblock , do you know the risks of natural breeding in the wild?
Like :

• Broody and chicks are / can be at high risk for predators. Depending on where you live of course.
• Eggs start to hatch on different days. Especially when other hens lay in the nest too. The broody often needs to leave the nest while some chicks are alive in the eggs. 2-3 days after the first chick she leaves the nest in search for feed.
• Bad outcome because the hen collected too much eggs. If so, she can’t keep them all warm.

 

[Hennyfromdblock]

@Hennyfromdblock , do you know the risks of natural breeding in the wild?
Like :

• Broody and chicks are / can be at high risk for predators. Depending on where you live of course.
• Eggs start to hatch on different days. Especially when other hens lay in the nest too. The broody often needs to leave the nest while some chicks are alive in the eggs. 2-3 days after the first chick she leaves the nest in search for feed.
• Bad outcome because the hen collected too much eggs. If so, she can’t keep them all warm.

Oh I wasn’t aware of that. Thank you for sharing