Fertile egg???

[Ihavesomechickens]

Hahaha. Noted.
How do i get them to sit on the future eggs? That egg was laid yesterday. Since it was fertile, im assuming the egg she lays today will also be fertile??? If so, do i just leave it in the nest and hope she goes broody?

I would do that. That’s how I make chickens broody, and it works pretty well.

Yeah, the egg needs to have a shell for them to sit on it. If it doesn’t, their broody butts turn yellow.

 

[Asaria1]

Put some fake eggs in the nests and be patient. They either will or will not go broody.

(Fake eggs in the nest, so the real ones can be safe inside the house. Having hens popping on and off as they lay new eggs is not good for eggs you want to hatch.)

Thank you! I did not know that.
So just keep the fertile eggs in the house, replace with golf balls until one goes broody, and then slip the fertile eggs under her when shes ready???
Any special care when keeping the eggs in the house?
Any time limits how long i can keep the fertile egg in the house before it goes “bad”?

 

[Asaria1]

I would do that. That’s how I make chickens broody, and it works pretty well.

Yeah, the egg needs to have a shell for them to sit on it. If it doesn’t, their broody butts turn yellow.

 

[cmom]

Personally I don't think you can make a bird go broody. There are some breeds that tend to be more broody. I would invest in an incubator. Currently I do have some birds that want to be broody but I use an incubator.

 

[cmom]

Last week I put a couple of dozen eggs in one of my smaller incubators. In a couple of weeks I should have some more chicks. I didn't have a good hatch with another male so I switched males around. Hopefully I'll have a better hatch this time. The viability goes down the longer the eggs sit before incubating while waiting for a bird to go broody. Good luck and have fun...

 

[NatJ]

So just keep the fertile eggs in the house, replace with golf balls until one goes broody, and then slip the fertile eggs under her when shes ready???

Basically, yes. Once you've got a few golf balls in the nest, there's no need to add another one each day--a hen doesn't seem to notice whether it's 1 or 3 or 12 or 50.

Any special care when keeping the eggs in the house?
Any time limits how long i can keep the fertile egg in the house before it goes “bad”?

It's best if the eggs are a week old or less when you put them under the hen. If you write the date on each egg when you find it, you will know how old each egg is. (An ordinary pencil is good for writing on the egg.)

If a hen doesn't go broody by the time a particular egg is a week old, you can just eat that egg.

Eggs for hatching should not be stored in the refrigerator. Recommended storage temperature is about 50-70 degrees (Fahrenheit). A basement is often good, or any room in an air-conditioned house might be OK. Warmer than that can make a chick sort-of grow but then die.

You can put the eggs in a carton, big end up, and just add a new one each day. Some people think you need to "turn" them each day (put one end of the egg carton on something so it's at an angle, other end up the next time.) Other people say that doesn't matter.

Avoid shaking them around and scrambling their insides

Hens are more likely to go broody in the spring.

A broody hen quits laying eggs. But the other hens in the flock keep laying.
So you could just eat eggs like normal until one of your hens goes broody, then start collecting eggs laid by the other hens. The broody won't care a bit if she's hatching someone else's eggs. (But do put all the eggs under her at the same time, so they all hatch at once. Do not give her eggs one day and the next and the next.)

 

[Asaria1]

Basically, yes. Once you've got a few golf balls in the nest, there's no need to add another one each day--a hen doesn't seem to notice whether it's 1 or 3 or 12 or 50.



It's best if the eggs are a week old or less when you put them under the hen. If you write the date on each egg when you find it, you will know how old each egg is. (An ordinary pencil is good for writing on the egg.)

If a hen doesn't go broody by the time a particular egg is a week old, you can just eat that egg.

Eggs for hatching should not be stored in the refrigerator. Recommended storage temperature is about 50-70 degrees (Fahrenheit). A basement is often good, or any room in an air-conditioned house might be OK. Warmer than that can make a chick sort-of grow but then die.

You can put the eggs in a carton, big end up, and just add a new one each day. Some people think you need to "turn" them each day (put one end of the egg carton on something so it's at an angle, other end up the next time.) Other people say that doesn't matter.

Avoid shaking them around and scrambling their insides

Hens are more likely to go broody in the spring.

A broody hen quits laying eggs. But the other hens in the flock keep laying.
So you could just eat eggs like normal until one of your hens goes broody, then start collecting eggs laid by the other hens. The broody won't care a bit if she's hatching someone else's eggs. (But do put all the eggs under her at the same time, so they all hatch at once. Do not give her eggs one day and the next and the next.)

This was very helpful! Thank you!

 

[Not another roo]

HI everyone, I think I also have fertilized eggs in my hands but I would like to make sure. Do you see a bullseye here? Thank you!

 

[Punkybrewster]

Yup. Sure is

 

[Asaria1]

HI everyone, I think I also have fertilized eggs in my hands but I would like to make sure. Do you see a bullseye here? Thank you!

View attachment 2259838

Looks like it to me!