Does a chicken have to sit on her eggs all day for them to hatch?

[citychicks99]

My hen just started laying eggs yesterday (yay!) We have a rooster so it looks like all the eggs will be fertile. But this hen likes to roam in the backyard all day, so it looks like if we want to hatch chicks, we will have to incubate them? It's also 47 degrees here so is that too cold to leave them outside anyway?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Bring them in if you want to hatch them in those cold temps.

Your hen may never attempt to sit on them. Many breeds have recently had the instinct to sit on eggs removed from their genes

However, let’s assume she has within her the ability to go broody and hatch eggs. Its still normal for her not to sit on them yet. She won’t sit until she’s laid one egg a day for several days for as long as 2-3 weeks. In normal temperatures the eggs lay dormant until she begins the brooding process.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

My hen just started laying eggs yesterday (yay!) We have a rooster so it looks like all the eggs will be fertile. But this hen likes to roam in the backyard all day, so it looks like if we want to hatch chicks, we will have to incubate them? It's also 47 degrees here so is that too cold to leave them outside anyway?

Hens need to sit on eggs all day, for 21 days, keeping them at above 95 degrees, for them to hatch.
They will not hatch if she is not incubating them.
Do not leave the eggs outside if she is not incubating them - bring them inside and eat them!

 

[citychicks99]

Bring them in if you want to hatch them in those cold temps.

Your hen may never attempt to sit on them. Many breeds have recently had the instinct to sit on eggs removed from their genes

However, let’s assume she has within her the ability to go broody and hatch eggs. Its still normal for her not to sit on them yet. She won’t sit until she’s laid one egg a day for several days for as long as 2-3 weeks. In normal temperatures the eggs lay dormant until she begins the brooding process.

Oh, good to know. If she becomes broody, would she stop laying eggs to focus on hatching them? Would it be an issue to try and incubate eggs if I only have one chicken, which means they would get laid at different times?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Oh, good to know. If she becomes broody, would she stop laying eggs to focus on hatching them? Would it be an issue to try and incubate eggs if I only have one chicken, which means they would get laid at different times?

Yes, when she becomes broody she will stop laying and focus on hatching them. When brooding (called “setting” in the American South) she’ll stay on the eggs most of the day and all night, only getting up to forage a bit and get water.

It is not an issue to incubate from only one hen. Each day she lays an egg, take the egg inside and store it at room temperature. Do not refrigerate it. Store them in an egg carton with the fat side of the egg up and the narrow side down (like the egg is upside down). Collect eggs for up to 2 weeks then set them in an incubator all at the same time.

Eggs will still hatch that are older than 2 weeks but 2 weeks is the max optimal time to preserve maximum viability. I have had good hatches on eggs that were up to a month old.

You will make better chicks if you wait a few weeks for the hen to have laid several eggs past her first egg before you start collecting. Eat or give away the first eggs she makes. And then her chicks after the first year will be better than her chicks from her earlier eggs. The reason for this is because her eggs will get bigger over time and the bigger they are the more nutrition and room there is for the chick to develop.

 

[3KillerBs]

Oh, good to know. If she becomes broody, would she stop laying eggs to focus on hatching them? Would it be an issue to try and incubate eggs if I only have one chicken, which means they would get laid at different times?

Here's a useful link on Broodies: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rst-turkey-strut-to-weaning-the-chicks.76878/