Enough Incubators?

[blklangshandude]

I am a huge fan of a single age flock. I do however have this fantasy of hatching every single egg of one sole hen to create a huge flock of full blooded sisters.

This would be a huge undertaking since eggs only stay fertile for a few days and I definitely would have baby chicks of different ages. The capacity of one hen producing 100+ baby chicks in a year is extremely fascinating. Has anybody ever did this on possibly a smaller or scale or has anybody ever wanted to do this? To do this efficiently I feel like I would need 7-10 incubators and I’d definitely end up with a mixed flock of different ages.

 

[Chookwagn]

You only need 3 incubators and one dedicated to hatching....

Will you be only hatching eggs from 1 hen?

You only need incubators that hold 7 eggs

 

[blklangshandude]

You only need 3 incubators and one dedicated to hatching....

Will you be only hatching eggs from 1 hen?

You only need incubators that hold 7 eggs

Do you think a seven day old egg is good for hatching? Even then that math only works if she lays an egg every day. So perhaps a better question is: Is a 14 day old egg good for hatching?

 

[Chookwagn]

Yes and yes

 

[blklangshandude]

Also, I have noticed hatcheries don’t hatch eggs certain times of the year. So I’d be limited to some degree based on the season. My idea would be to hatch 100 full blooded siblings and hope half would be pullets.

 

[Chookwagn]

Also, I have noticed hatcheries don’t hatch eggs certain times of the year. So I’d be limited to some degree based on the season. My idea would be to hatch 100 full blooded siblings and hope half would be pullets.

That would be easy done

 

[blklangshandude]

That would be easy done

I’m going to do it but probably on a smaller scale. I didn’t know it was a good idea to hatch 14 day old eggs. I already have an incubator that holds seven eggs.

From late April - early September I think I would have enough time for 5 hatches.

 

[Chookwagn]

I’m going to do it but probably on a smaller scale. I didn’t know it was a good idea to hatch 14 day old eggs. I already have an incubator that holds seven eggs.

From late April - early September I think I would have enough time for 5 hatches.

Or you could just get 1 bigger incubator that holds 21+ eggs

Each week you are taking 7 eggs to the hatcher and adding another 7 eggs

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Not sure if there is a big difference between duck and chicken for how long you can wait to hatch but I thought what the heck and added eggs that were 20 days after being laid
I got 100 % hatch rate on my babies
When I first did hatching I had 2 incubators
One I put an egg in daily and the other so I could move them over for lockdown
If you put eggs in every 3-4 days it would give time to move one group over have them hatch and move the next group over ect
Although it’s not recommended to go past 10-14 days after as fertility goes down that’s not always the case

 

[blklangshandude]

Or you could just get 1 bigger incubator that holds 21+ eggs

Each week you are taking 7 eggs to the hatcher and adding another 7 eggs

Are you taking into account that this will be one hen? How long do eggs stay fertile? Yes. Ideally hatching 21 at a time would be best.