Hello from newly chicken obsessed citizen of NSW Australia!

[Emmsykate]

Hi Guys! Glad to be a new member of Backyardchickens! You all have helped me so much already as i am new to this and i am absolutely stoked to be a part of this chicken loving community

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Hi and welcome to BYC! Thanks for joining us!

 

[Marvelhero]

Hi

So happy to join BYC. I really need your help! I have 5 Hyline hens and a Rhode island red rooster. The rooster is knew. When the hens lay eggs should I leave all of them in the nesting box for them to sit and hatch or should I take them out and leave the fertile ones in. Also how would I tell the difference between fertile and non fertile eggs? Really need help

 

[Marvelhero]

Hi

I really need your help! I have 5 Hyline hens and a Rhode island red rooster. The rooster is knew. When the hens lay eggs should I leave them in the nesting box for them to sit and hatch or should I take them out and leave the fertile ones in. Also how would I tell the difference between a fertile and non fertile eggs?

 

[sunflour]

glad you decided to join us.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings and . Great to have you with us! Here's a link to other Aussies if you're interested https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/598568/australia-six-states-and-that-funny-little-island
Best wishes and enjoy BYC.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[CuzChickens]

Hi

I really need your help! I have 5 Hyline hens and a Rhode island red rooster. The rooster is knew. When the hens lay eggs should I leave them in the nesting box for them to sit and hatch or should I take them out and leave the fertile ones in. Also how would I tell the difference between a fertile and non fertile eggs?

Hello, and welcome to BYC. How old are is the rooster and hens? If they are older than 8 months, and the rooster has been in with them for about a week or more, and you have also seen them mating, then your eggs are most likely fertile. But if you leave eggs in a nesting box, a hen may or may not hatch out the eggs, they have to be in the mood to sit on a nesting box for 21 days. To tell the difference between fertile eggs, you would need a candler, but you have the right ratio for fertile eggs, and the hens know when eggs are not fertile, so if one starts sitting on the nest, after a few days she will be able to tell which will live and which won't and she will kick the non developing eggs out. Good luck and I hope this helped.

 

[CuzChickens]

Welcome to Backyard chickens! I am so glad you joined us today, and I hope that you enjoy it here at BYC, I know I have.

 

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you. We've had lots of Aussies joining latey! The more the merrier, I say.

Hi

So happy to join BYC. I really need your help! I have 5 Hyline hens and a Rhode island red rooster. The rooster is knew. When the hens lay eggs should I leave all of them in the nesting box for them to sit and hatch or should I take them out and leave the fertile ones in. Also how would I tell the difference between fertile and non fertile eggs? Really need help

Hi there, you might consider making your own thread do you can get a proper welcome from the whole community. You can do that by going to the main page of the introductions forum and clicking the "Start a new thread" button at the top left of the page.

As for your birds, I would suggest collecting all the eggs for now. Hyline hens are production birds, and so they do not brood. Production breeds have had the instinct to sit and hatch chicks bred out of their lineage, because when a hen is brooding she is not laying eggs. I fear that trying to get these birds to brood would be a waste of time - it would be one in a million that they would actually become broody. Instead, I would suggest purchasing yourself some Silkie, Cochin, Gamefowl, or Cornish pullets or hens. These breeds are all known to be the broodiest and will happily sit and hatch eggs for you. Other broody breeds include Brahmas, Orpingtons, and Wyandottes. Alternately, you could purchase an incubator and hatch the eggs yourself; I find the Brinsea brand to be quite satisfactory.

As for fertile eggs - if the rooster is mature and has been in with your hens for more than few days, almost every one of your eggs is sure to be fertile. You can tell the difference between a fertile and infertile egg by cracking it open. A fertile egg will have a small white bullseye on the yolk; an infertile egg will have a misshapen dot. You may have to turn the yolk using a spoon to find the bullseye or dot.