Hello, I am new to byc, I keep reading posts from here as I look for info on the web about my chickens and decided to join. I have had chickens for about 3 years and really enjoy them. I enjoy all aspects of chick hood, from feeding, cleaning and just spending time with the girls (right now I only have laying hens). They just melt stress away by sitting out in the yard watching them scratch, and hunt bugs, dust bath, and follow me around. I have 2 broody hens right now and ordered fertile hatching eggs which hopefully should be here in about 3-4 days. I also have an incubator in case they decide to give up being broody (which doesn't seem likely). Right now my biggest question is, do you candle eggs that a broody is sitting on? One of my hens a buff orp is probably ok with me handling her eggs but the other hen, a barred rock is pretty aggressively protecting the fake eggs she is sitting on right now. If the eggs don't develop, how long before they explode? (last year a different buff orp went broody and I ordered eggs which didn't hatch and one exploded and I had to clean the hen, nest box etc up- didn't distract her from brooding though so I ordered chicks as she had been sitting in that box for 3 months, the chicks did the trick, she was a great mom). Thanks, E
from Ohio. So glad you joined 
