Hatching chick questions...

[poultry person]

We want to start hatching chicks for the first time in the spring, so can you guys give me some advice and answer some of these questions?:

At what age are cockerels to fertilize eggs?

How do you know when an egg is fertile?

And how long does it take to hatch the egg?

 

[poultry person]

I have two cockerels and 14 hens, the cocks are already dancing and jumping on top of the hens.

 

[Miss717]

Takes 21 days from beginning of incubation to hatch an egg. Can only tell a fertile egg by cracking it open or starting incubation and candling in 5-7 days or so.

 

[song of joy]

Most of your questions will be covered in the in-depth article about incubating and hatching eggs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-eggs-just-21-days-from-egg-to-chicken.47696/

If cockerels are mating with the hens, the eggs will likely be fertile. Speaking of cockerels, be sure you have a plan in place for dealing with the cockerels that will hatch. You can expect at least 50% of the hatch to produce cockerels.