Hatching eggs arrived!

[MaestrosMomma]

Oh boy oh boy...I am so siked. I just got a doz silkie eggs in the mail. The seller did not include any specific instructions and since my last attempt from mypetchicken ended in a 10% hatch rate (1 out of 7) I wanted to make sure I was doing this right.

My plans:

I just unwrapped them all (12) and put them in an egg carton. I am using my broody hens so do I let them warm up to room temp first? Last time I placed them all small end down and left them in the house for 12 hours. Then I put them under my hen. Is this the right way? Should I candle them now or wait?

Last question (I hope)...can you entice a silkie hen to "go broody"? I have one hen waiting, she's already broody and the reason I bought the eggs. However there are too many eggs for just one hen. I have another silkie hen that is still raising her one baby BUT she's begun to squat when I go to pet her. Does this mean I might be able to sit her down on eggs and she might be ok with that?

This is my last attempt at hatching I need to get as many as I can out of this. Because I feel awful when some turn out to be roos and I can't keep them (neighbors) so I have to give them away. I have a young roo now I can't find a home for.

Any help would be wonderful!

 

[sheilawagner]

Good luck with your eggs and hatching experience.

I am not an expert, but I've tried what you are trying, to use a hen to brood my hatching eggs. My experience has taught me that you have to do the enticing and the homework prior to having your real eggs ready. You need to either set one batch of test eggs and allow a hen to get broody on her own first, once she's established herself to be really broody, that's when you put your real hatching eggs under her.

Most probably, you can't make a hen brood on your real batch of eggs just because you put them under her. She might most likely just walk away and reject those eggs, but you can try. Don't know if that will work. I tried once, and mine wouldn't do it. I had to make sure she was already broody first before putting my good expensive eggs under her.

Also, always put the big end on top when resting your eggs before setting them in the bator, and you need to turn them if you want to ensure a better hatch rate. If you want to set them under a broody, I don't know if you should still set them prior, but I would still put them big end on top if I was just to be on the safe side.

Best of luck.

 

[MaestrosMomma]

Great, thank you for the help