Do they need to be in an incubator?

[MonkeyZero]

Hi

DO fertilized eggs need to be incubated in an incubator, or will a hen sitting on it do the trick?

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Sitting or Broody hens have been doing it for thousands of years

 

[MonkeyZero]

If then


Why do we use incubators, instead of the hen? Arent all hens broody???

 

[seminolewind]

I think hens are the best, but sometimes they won't sit on the eggs, or you're hatching a large amount, or you don't have a hen .

 

[MonkeyZero]

How old are most breeds(wyandotte) start laying

WHat is better, eggshell or grits for calcium?
Are fat chickens better for broody?

 

[SHELLY]

No, some hens won't set. Broodiness has been bred out of a lot of breeds while trying to produce other desired qualities. For example, bigger eggss, bigger meat birds, etc.

We incubate to get what we want when we want, I guess.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Lots of people don't have a breed of hen that goes broody or they don't have a rooster to mate with their hens...so they buy shipped eggs and use an incubator....

Grit does not have calcium to provide for hens, its to help grind their food up in their gizzards.....oyster shell or grounded/mashed eggs shells is where the calcium is...

 

[earthnut]

If I gave my hens eggs, they'd totally ignore them, possibly eat them. Many hens won't sit on eggs, because it's been bred out of them, and even the broody types aren't necessarily reliable. You can't make a hen broody if she doesn't feel like it.