Fertile eggs?

[lybber8]

My son is taking care of friends chickens - 5 hens one rooster. We have a small coop with 6 new hens (8 weeks old) He wants to try to incubate some eggs. Will all the eggs from the chickens be fertile? What do we need to do to get fertile eggs? We have a still air system set up holding at 99.

 

[Tala]

Chances are good that they are all fertile (I have one rooster and 8 hens, and got 100% hatch from their eggs on my first attempt, also in a still air incubator) but you can crack an egg to check for the bullseye if you are worried.

It can/will depend on the age/condition of the birds, and there could always be "that one" hen that won't let the rooster touch her....but I think your chances are good

 

[crash0330]

Yeah you have a good male to female ratio its most likely theyre all fertile.

 

[big guy]

Thank you for your help. I will let everybody know the results.

 

[big guy]

How soon after the chicken lays do you need to get the eggs? It seems in nature the nest is left unattended for short periods of time. The temp here is about 70 during the day.