Hens first eggs!

[WestVermont]

I was wondering if you can incubate and hatch a hens first eggs.... My hens just started laying today and today my horny little rooster pasted away after I'm guessing an attack. I wanted to know if I can hatch out his offspring before his seed is gone? Also tips on using an incubator would be helpful.

 

[chicken pickin]

I dont know from experience but from what ive read you can hatch a pullets first eggs, though the success rate may not be as great as a hen who has been laying for a while, you can still get a chick from the pullet eggs. If he just passed away your pullets should still be fertile(if he mated them) for I believe 3-4 weeks.

 

[sumi]

I'm sorry to hear about your rooster

Like the above post said, hens can lay fertile eggs for awhile after a successful mating. I believe the timeframe is 2-3 weeks. I wouldn't hatch out the pullet's first eggs as they are usually small and often "practice" eggs don't have yolks or have 2 yolks or something unusual going on with them. Also you may want to check if their eggs are actually fertile. There's some pics here:

How to Tell a Fertile vs INfertile Egg (Pictures)

If you are getting fertile eggs and decide to incubate have a read through this article:

[Article] Hatching Eggs 101

It will tell you everything you need to know about incubation. Good luck and I hope you get some chicks from your poor roo.

 

[rocks3flowers]

wish there was more to this post as Iv bin thinking about this if I hatch now I'll have pullets who start laying in march! and rooster to eat during the winter. I'm going to try ! and take lots of notes. I also always keep track of fertility so that will be help ful for others who want to try. also see if many make the first 48 hrs or if first eggs are healthy to hatch. I'll update this form but I'll start my own for the experiment. first I need to devide my breeds as they are all mixed right now. so update in about a month on fertility