First egg

Douglas Colman

In the Brooder
Mar 12, 2020
39
24
23
G'day my friends,
The story thus far.
I got 4 RIR chicks in March and were supposed to be all hens but are 2 boys and now 1 girl. Three months ago one of the girls was rocking like a boat as she breathed and next time I looked had " Fallen off the perch" so to speak.
The other 3 have grown up just fine. The dominant male was seen doing his job about a month ago and she has backed out 4 eggs so far.
My question is, if I let her keep the eggs is she likely to go broody and hatch them or should I take them and let her get some practice at what she does best before she starts sitting on them?
 
Not a good idea to hatch from small pullet eggs. No guarantees a bird will go broody either, especially such a young one, so just leaving the eggs out there could possibly lead to rotten eggs over time or broken eggs in the nest box.

Once some time has passed and you're ready to save eggs for hatching, you can start saving up eggs on the side while piling up fake eggs in the nest box to see if that nudges her in that direction.
 
Not a good idea to hatch from small pullet eggs. No guarantees a bird will go broody either, especially such a young one, so just leaving the eggs out there could possibly lead to rotten eggs over time or broken eggs in the nest box.

Once some time has passed and you're ready to save eggs for hatching, you can start saving up eggs on the side while piling up fake eggs in the nest box to see if that nudges her in that direction.
Not a good idea to hatch from small pullet eggs. No guarantees a bird will go broody either, especially such a young one, so just leaving the eggs out there could possibly lead to rotten eggs over time or broken eggs in the nest box.

Once some time has passed and you're ready to save eggs for hatching, you can start saving up eggs on the side while piling up fake eggs in the nest box to see if that nudges her in that direction.
Thanks for the heads up.
Will collect the eggs for now.how long do you recommend I wait?
 
Thanks for the heads up.
Will collect the eggs for now.how long do you recommend I wait?

No real set time frame - could be weeks, could be months. You want her to start laying proper adult sized eggs before you start trying to hatch them. Bigger eggs = more room for chick development = healthier chicks.

If you're really set on hatching best to plan on incubating and brooding yourself, rather than relying on a breed that's not known for being broody.
 
No real set time frame - could be weeks, could be months. You want her to start laying proper adult sized eggs before you start trying to hatch them. Bigger eggs = more room for chick development = healthier chicks.

If you're really set on hatching best to plan on incubating and brooding yourself, rather than relying on a breed that's not known for being broody.
Roger That.
I was hoping to let nature do its thing.
Time for a change of plans.
Have attached a photo. This is my first time doing this. Hope this works.
 
Roger That.
I was hoping to let nature do its thing.
Time for a change of plans.
Have attached a photo. This is my first time doing this. Hope this works.

Sorry photos didn't attach. Easy way to add photos: Click on the landscape icon on the reply window (Insert Image) and drag a photo into the little panel that opens.

If you want to raise chicks via mama, you could consider getting some breeds known for being broody, but if you don't keep track of who is laying which eggs you may end up hatching a bunch of crossbreeds, which might not be part of your plan.
 
Not a good idea to hatch from small pullet eggs. No guarantees a bird will go broody either, especially such a young one, so just leaving the eggs out there could possibly lead to rotten eggs over time or broken eggs in the nest box.

Once some time has passed and you're ready to save eggs for hatching, you can start saving up eggs on the side while piling up fake eggs in the nest box to see if that nudges her in that direction.
Hello my friends,
Update on the egg production.
My single RIR hen started laying on the 2nd of August and has laid one chooky bumnut every day so far.
As was suggested I'm taking the eggs and will let her get used to her new job.
I have a small problem.
Sometime ago I started to breed black soldier fly grubs for them to eat. Free food is good.
Sounded like a good idea but they just look at them with a "You must be joking" attitude.
Today there was a lot of earthworms out because of the rain 🌧️. More free food, so I collected some and put them on the ground for the chooks and again they looked at them and gave me a you've got to be kidding look and strutted off.
My next plan is to not feed them for a while and see if their aristocratic attitude improves.
what's your advice.
 

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