Breeding Chickens and Hatching Their Eggs

[Norah22]

Hi, I’m just wondering if you have a roo and hens, how do you hatch their fertile eggs if you want the hen to be broody and hatch them herself. What if the the eggs are a week or a few days apart? How does that work? Thank you in advance!

 

[chickenlittle21]

If you have a broody that you don't want to break, you choose the eggs you want to hatch and mark them with a X in black crayon. Every day you remove the eggs that don't have X's on them.

 

[Norah22]

So, do you want the eggs that you choose to be from the same day as each other, so that they will hatch on the same day? If you want to hatch a large amount of chicks from 9 or 10 gals and a roo, will you have to use different broodies for eggs that are from different days?

 

[LynnaePB]

Eggs can be stored for up to a couple weeks and still have good viability (they can often go even longer but viability really starts to drop and you will be less likely to get a good hatch). I would collect the eggs you want incubated and then put them all under the broody at the same time so you avoid having a staggered hatch.

Ideally eggs should be stored in a cool and humid area with the pointy side down (large end up) and turned several times a day.

I personally don't have anywhere in my home (except for the fridge and that is too cold) that is under 70 degrees but I've typically had good luck hatching eggs from my flock that were just left on the counter at room temperature for up to a weak before incubating. If temperatures are above 75 when stored you may run into issues but I've had really good luck with 75 degrees Fahrenheit and under for eggs up to 7 days old.

 

[Norah22]

Wait a second, do the fertilized eggs only start developing when they are at the temperature of a broody hen, either in a brooder or under a hen???

 

[chickenlittle21]

Wait a second, do the fertilized eggs only start developing when they are at the temperature of a broody hen, either in a brooder or under a hen???

If you mean incubator then yes

 

[Norah22]

Just to clarify, if you take the fertile eggs out of the laying boxes, you can store the eggs until you have as many as you want to hatch in an incubator, then they will still hatch on the same day?

 

[LynnaePB]

Just to clarify, if you take the fertile eggs out of the laying boxes, you can store the eggs until you have as many as you want to hatch in an incubator, then they will still hatch on the same day?

Yes that is right, as long as they are stored properly and don't get too old before being given to a broody or placed in an incubator you should be good.

 

[Norah22]

I had no idea! Thank you guys soo much for your help!

 

[LynnaePB]

I had no idea! Thank you guys soo much for your help!

I should add it may not be on the exact same day but they should hatch fairly close together. Even in eggs that were all laid on the same day there is going to be some variation when the babies hatch. You sometimes get late or early hatchers that may hatch a day or two ahead or behind the rest. Mine usually hatch within 24 hours of each other whether or not I collected them on the same day and immediately incubated or I collected over a week and then incubated.