Can I hatch eggs from a 6 year old hen!?

[peepsthebrassy]

My hen peeps, is going to be 6 this year. her eggs have never been futile in the past. At that time I had lots of adult hens in the coop(7 full size plus her and one roo). Now it is only her and 2 younger bantam hens, one full size gray hen, one full size roo and a bantam roo. when she had laid the eggs they were not misshaped or when I crack them open they were normal looking on the inside, no bubbles. Will the eggs that I get from peeps hatch if she or I incubate them!? or will they not have enough nutrients for them to hatch? She also lays every other day, well did last summer. Will she still lay off and on this year!? If I keep her egg for six weeks before incubating it will it still be good and futile?

 

[rainbowrooster]

Six weeks is way too long to store eggs for hatching. Try 10 days or less. The age of your hen should not be a problem. The eggs just need to be fertilized and incubated properly.

 

[peepsthebrassy]

thank you very much

randowrooster

 

[KelseyBoxer]

I agree about fresh eggs (less than 10 days old.) as long as they are turned every day 3x a day. With the air cell up. The age of the hen shouldn't matter. The rooster has to do his job. You could crack an egg and look for the bullseye in the yolk. Or just place them in the incubator and you should know by day 10.

 

[peepsthebrassy]

When i did crack them open near the end of summer last year they did have the bulls eye but I had no incubator to put them in. My mom did not what me to make one when i was going to school in a short time. she did not want it to catch fire scence i was making it out of a cardboard box. I did that the year before when she was giving me unfertilized eggs only got 2 Americana chicks out of 15 eggs.

 

[KelseyBoxer]

Do you have an incubator now? I think if you make one out of cardboard it will not hold the temp very well. A brooder can be made out of cardboard. I have seen cardboard kits for these for sale. Any way, if I were you, I would collect eggs from your girl and set them in an incubator. What have you got to lose? I know emotions run high when incubating (mine do) . ps There are lots of videos on youtube that show how to make incubators out of coolers!

 

[peepsthebrassy]

I am going to make a cooler incubator this year and when I am out of school put peeps's eggs in it. I am waiting for when I am out of school so I can turn them 3 times a day. plus she has not started laying yet. hope this is not off subject

...but,will her color be in her chicks?

The roo that is in with her is EE with a pure white belly. He looks like this one but not as much black on the beak or neck. Really Ceazer is much prettier. Peeps looks like the hen in the picture bellow but she has hardly any red or rust on the neck whit allot more white on it that goes into her face and shorter feet feathers.
thanks kelseyboxer

 

[KelseyBoxer]

A lot of the fun in hatching mixed breeds is the wild colors and patterns the chicks have. Since the roo is an EE he is already a mix.It all depends on who has dominant genes. I have a golden laced Wyanditte and he has a mixed flock of hens. Some are white, some are red and 1 is another golden laced. The chicks are beautiful and colorful. Some have the laced feathers and some just dark necks or almost white. They change as they grow too. I really cant say if you will get a mini peeps, but I can say you will be thrilled with them all.

 

[peepsthebrassy]

The chicks that i got from him were like the hens that layed them but slightly lighter. (black australorps made gray australorps) so is that the hens have the more dominate color?

 

[KelseyBoxer]

The parents of those of those chicks were all the same breed just different variety(color) right? I have a black Ameruacana with black hens and blue hens. I expect that 1/2 should be black, 1/4 should be blue and 1/4 splash. Breeders have established this pattern by breeding these colors for generations. When you breed mixed hens and roos the sky is the limit. Is peeps the same breed as your roo?