LCG Chicken Coop
Crowing
This is fascinating, especially that the hens will know when to leave the eggs alone the last few days? Quite impressive!@mixedUPturk
A couple of things that got some coverage in PhD papers based on the Brazilian research I linked to.
The first three days after the hen sets the eggs are critical. Something that incubators do not replicate well is the hens ability to turn the eggs frequently enough or place in correct orientation. A hen can stand an egg upright in a well made nest apparently.
One great seemingly advantage of having a nest box in this house is I can observe it from most points. A disadvantage is I can also hear it. I've timed a few hens turning eggs here. I can hear them quite clearly from my bed and given how quiet it is here.......well, sleep became a problem and I had to resort to wearing earplugs for the durations.
Anyway, they turn eggs every twenty minutes on average. What I don't know is how many get turned each time.
The paper I recall had all eggs turned each hour.
The last three days the eggs should not be turned or disturbed as I believe most know.