Broodiness?

[KatieHoyle]

My hen laid her first egg this morning. I was wondering if I had to take the egg out and incubate it myself, or will she sit on it herself? Ya'll mentioned something earlier about broodiness? What happens if she never decides to sit on it, and it's too late to take out? Can I still incubate it? Will it still hatch?
Thanks!

 

[drumstick diva]

Do you have a rooster? If not her eggs will not be fertile and will not hatch under her or in an incubator. If you have a rooster and he has been doing his job, her eggs should be fertile. Since she doesn't intend to sit on them, an incubator will be fine. It's best that you collect a few eggs first and all get put in the same day. That way they should hatch around the same time.

Read up on some of the hatching and incubation threads so you will know what to expect and what to do with your incubator.

 

[Teila]

Hi there KatieHoyle

First up, I am assuming you have a rooster.

You mention this is her first egg; I have not heard of a hen going broody when laying her first egg but then I guess anything is possible.

The natural process when a hen is going broody is for the hen to lay one egg a day for 7-10 days and then she sits on them. The eggs do not start to develop until she sits on them, thus guaranteeing that they all hatch around the same time.

This means that you have a 7-10 day window in which to make a decision whether to put it in an incubator.

Me, personally, I would not incubate or try to hatch a hens first few eggs; just to give her internal plumbing time to organise itself (for want of better terminology).

 

[N F C]

Welcome to BYC!

Nice to have you join us.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[KatieHoyle]

Thank you to all who replied!

Hi there KatieHoyle

First up, I am assuming you have a rooster.

You mention this is her first egg; I have not heard of a hen going broody when laying her first egg but then I guess anything is possible.

The natural process when a hen is going broody is for the hen to lay one egg a day for 7-10 days and then she sits on them. The eggs do not start to develop until she sits on them, thus guaranteeing that they all hatch around the same time.

This means that you have a 7-10 day window in which to make a decision whether to put it in an incubator.

Me, personally, I would not incubate or try to hatch a hens first few eggs; just to give her internal plumbing time to organise itself (for want of better terminology).

Thank you so much! This really helped me. I'll probably wait and she if she will sit on it, hoping that she will

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[nj2wv]

Welcome to BYC !!