Hen laying first egg..Maybe fertile? Need help!

[barngoddess161]

Ok, so heres the story,lol.. My 8 month old d'Uccle Porcelain and Mille Fleurs roos just started to realize they are roosters, and my 2 porcelains got into it pretty good and tore each other up. The worst of the 2 is in my basement, recovering with a torn up head. Because he had been crowing so much, I threw a hen in with him to keep him company. Went to check them today ,and she laid her first egg! Out of the all the hens we have, this is the first egg I've seen, so Im super excited! She has been exposed to all the other roosters since they hatched, but would caging her up with the roo be the reason she laid? Id love to have to have chicks, how long should I leave the 2 separated from the flock? Depending how the 2 roosters react, I may remove the other rooster from the flock for good, and keep the injured one in, because he was not the aggressor in the fight. Either way, what should I do for now with this hen? I noticed he'd been dropping his wing and chasing her around in the crate, but I havent caught them in the act yet,lol..Should I just leave her with the egg and hope for the best? Hope for more eggs? How long should I leave eggs with her before I assume they arent fertile? Im so lost here, and it shouldnt be this confusing! lol Please help a chicken newbie out

 

[clarkai]

Well, even if it is fertile (and I'm not saying it isn't), she probably won't go broody right away, so it wouldn't do you any good. Unless you have an incubator handy, or another hen decides to go broody, it being fertile won't get you a chick. And a hen will lay with or with out a rooster- it doesn't make a difference. By the same token, hens will go broody with infertile eggs just as readily as with fertile eggs.

 

[Kittymomma]

The egg is probably fertile, but the hen won't sit on it/them unless she goes broody. Not all breeds go broody, some breeds are know for broodiness, but even then it's an individual hen thing and not anything you can count on. I'm not familiar with the breed you have so hopefully somone who has them will chime in soon and give you an idea of weather it's likely that she will want to sit.

If you really want chicks your best bet is to incubat them yourself. I know of people who have succesfully incubated pullet eggs, but your chances are better if you wait a bit for the eggs to get closer to full size. It will give the chick more room to grow and be strong.

Good luck and congrats on the first egg!

 

[clarkai]

Quote:
On the other hand, I incubated the first week's worth of eggs from my two hens and got a 17 out of 18 hatch rate. Just saying it can be done. Not necessarily that it's a good idea, just that I didn't have any problems.