Egg questions

[PNWhomesteader]

since my hen hasn't paid any attention to the egg all day, does that mean the egg will not be a baby chic??

most hens lay 7-10+ eggs before they sit on them, the eggs that she lays will still stay fertile and could still be chicks even if she doesn't sit on them right away.. if a chicken lays one egg a day, then she will go 7+ days ignoring those eggs before she decides she has enough to sit on. they will all start developing at the same rate, starting from the day she sits on them.. but.. the majority of our chickens haven't gone broody till they had been laying for 3+ months.. her first eggs will be smaller and not incredibly viable to carry a chick to hatching.. i would collect her first 10 eggs or so, then maybe let the next 10 sit in the coop, see if she gets broody.. if she doesnt, those eggs will still be fine to eat.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi Becky and welcome to BYC. Congrats on your first egg! I'd simply enjoy eating it

Here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs.

There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - Find Your State Thread


Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[rjohns39]

Hi Becky and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[sourland]

Good morning, Becky, and welcome to BYC. @Teila, and @PNWhomesteader have effectively answered your questions. You don't mention where you are located. If temperatures are below or near freezing, you may want to bring the eggs as laid into the house - leaving a 'nest egg' in the nest. Keep the eggs at moderate temperature and humidity and turn twice daily. Return them to the nest if/when the hen goes broody.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You've received some great advise here already. After birds have been mating for a week or two, the hens eggs should be fertile, although not all eggs are.

She doesn't sound broody right now, some birds go broody fairly easy, others never go broody. Its all hormonal driven, they either have the hormones to hatch chicks, or they don't. Certain breeds are more prone to broodiness too. If you want chicks, you might get more hens, one of them is bound to go broody. You can also get an incubator and incubate eggs yourself.

Great to have you aboard and welcome to our roost!