Hobby breeding and general fertility Qs

[Zoohtasim]

1. Besides breaking open an egg to check for a blastoderm, is there any other way to check for fertility?

2. Once a rooster has successfully mated a hen, how long will her eggs be fertile for? I assume it can’t be one for one of you test by breaking eggs in the first place…

3. How many eggs is a good amount to put under one hen? I don’t want to cram too many in there, but I’d like to have more than one or two per broody.

4. What’s the max amount of days you should add new eggs before stopping? I know hatch times can vary, and I also assume that broody hens won’t just stay sitting on a late egg when they have littles to wrangle.

5. I know this is probably personal preference, but do you candle eggs when hatching under a hen?

1. Egg candling is a great way as others have said!

2. 3 weeks usually

3. One or two per broody is too little! Not sure if it's specifically a bangladeshi chicken thing, but my small chickens can easily take care of 14 eggs! But usually I give them 10-12 eggs

4. I usually collect all the eggs and make the broody sit on them all at once

5. Yes, I absolutely do! Some eggs develop an embyo but in the middle they die, for me, it's important to keep an eye out for them as I dont want them to rot and possibly make others rot with it

 

[Zoohtasim]

1. Egg candling is a great way as others have said!

2. 3 weeks usually

3. One or two per broody is too little! Not sure if it's specifically a bangladeshi chicken thing, but my small chickens can easily take care of 14 eggs! But usually I give them 10-12 eggs

4. I usually collect all the eggs and make the broody sit on them all at once

5. Yes, I absolutely do! Some eggs develop an embyo but in the middle they die, for me, it's important to keep an eye out for them as I dont want them to rot and possibly make others rot with it

This is a very "Desi chicken'' care guide. They are better mums than the normal special breeds so you'll need to take care of them more.

 

[Stephanie8806]

Yep, was thinking rechargeable battery operated walkie talkie, (do check to see if you can just listen in on one end - haven't had one in a long long time) not a bad thing to have around anyhow. Seems like they can be had for around $40 for a decent set with rechargeable batteries on amazon)

So with a broody hen, generally by a week to 10 days old, mine are out with the entire flock. I do separate them in their own area at night until around 3-4 weeks, after that they have their choice of where to go and start going out with the flock whenever the door opens. I don't know how big your separate coop area is, mine is about 3ft x 8ft. Once they're ready for outside time, they're all out together as a big flock.

By the time the hen has finished raising them, they won't need any separate heat source, they'll just be youngsters, probably going around together as their own group after mom has weaned them, and one day they start laying (or crowing!).

The broody re-entry is usually the rough patch - she will of course be very worried about keeping the others from her chicks at first. There's usuually a big fight or two - sometimes the broody becomes the big boss, sometimes she's at the low end of the flock, but once they've sorted it out for themselves it's pretty easy, the first reentry is the hardest. Hormones will have her doing things you've never seen that hen do before, so she is sort of a different bird at that point. But this part cannot be helped. During egg incubation, I let mine out once a day with the flock to eat and drink and dust bathe, all the way up to hatch time, so she's kept up face time with the flock.

Keeping her nest exclusive to her will prevent the other problems I talked about a couple posts earlier. So I close the nest to the other birds, let her out with the flock at the same time every day, and then make sure she's come back to her eggs and close her back off.

It's all the social interaction she would have sought on her own- some hens even choose to go off into the woods or under a bush, far from the flock to incubate and hatch, so this isn't something she won't have done naturally anyhow.

Adding something like a Flock Block the first couple of days can greatly improve how things go. Just don't leave it out there 24/7 because the chicks and chickens will jump on top of it, poop and then you have a coccidiosis outbreak with the chicks (yup, did that too). It's meant as a distraction and a treat.

The separated coop area(inside the main coop, I only have 1 coop currently) is about 20-24 square feet? Not sure, as it’s L shaped. I’ve attached a picture of it when I first installed it last year. The far left side had another mesh wall installed, and that arm was under the poop boards. The side running under the window got covered with plywood. Last year, it was sufficient for 18 chicks from 2 weeks old until they were about 8 weeks… at which point they were fully integrated with the flock.

Our attached run is about 450 square feet, but there are some weak spots around the door. Chicks would be able to squeeze out until about 4 weeks old, I think. My chicks last year didn’t go outside until about 6 weeks old, and I supervised any time in the run with the older chickens for about a week. That’s why I asked about a mama possibly going outside without the chicks. I’d have food and water in the brooding area, but I don’t know how long an adult hen would be content in there. The awesome part is that the adult flock gets tons of safe exposure and interaction at the netting. It’s right by their door to the outside, and the usual nest boxes are in there.

I also let the adult flock out to free range each day. Last year with chicks, I’d let the main flock out and put food and water outside the run. Then They’d get their exercise and the chicks could have freedom in the run for a little bit. I was also planning to get a straw bale in the run(I heard those can be great for boredom) as well as some pallets(small spaces chicks could squeeze into and hide).

This will all be easier next year when I build my detached brooding coop and run normally I wouldn’t mind the extra work to supervise, but I’m trying to think about doing it all with a newborn of my own. It really all depends on when the mama hens in question actually go broody. If they don’t go broody until about two weeks after I have my baby, I should be feeling pretty functional by the time babies come.

 

[Stephanie8806]

This is a very "Desi chicken'' care guide. They are better mums than the normal special breeds so you'll need to take care of them more.

I appreciate the input! The hens I have that I’m assuming will go broody(because they did this Fall) are Cochins… and I hear they’re usually pretty good mothers! I have heard great things about silkies as well, but 1. I’m not interested in bantams, and 2. Our winters are too harsh for them.

I need full sized and full feathered. So Cochins seemed to be the next best choice

 

[Shezadandy]

Actually my baby monitor isn't WiFi either- the camera only communicates with the "TV" screen for visual and audio. I don't have this one but it's similar. Although this one seems to have a battery powered camera unit based on the description. (mine has to be plugged in, but it is an older model)

https://www.amazon.com/Monitor-bono...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Definitely double verify whether any particular camera end would need power (as in, be plugged in) - someone somewhere has to have solved this problem, right? I'm looking to upgrade mine to one that will move the camera from the TV part so I don't have to keep messing around trying to get the angle right in the nest box. Anyhow- just be aware that I could be incorrect about the camera operating on battery.

 

[Stephanie8806]

Definitely double verify whether any particular camera end would need power (as in, be plugged in) - someone somewhere has to have solved this problem, right? I'm looking to upgrade mine to one that will move the camera from the TV part so I don't have to keep messing around trying to get the angle right in the nest box. Anyhow- just be aware that I could be incorrect about the camera operating on battery.

I will certainly look into it! I know I had a lot of trouble finding battery operated baby camera TVs/screens that had any sort of range when I had my first kiddo 3 years ago. But you’d think they’d have a solution!

Our coop is just under 300 feet from the house. Without wifi, I’d be pretty surprised for live image to transmit that far. Walkie talkies might be the best bet

 

[Shezadandy]

The separated coop area(inside the main coop, I only have 1 coop currently) is about 20-24 square feet? Not sure, as it’s L shaped. I’ve attached a picture of it when I first installed it last year. The far left side had another mesh wall installed, and that arm was under the poop boards. The side running under the window got covered with plywood. Last year, it was sufficient for 18 chicks from 2 weeks old until they were about 8 weeks… at which point they were fully integrated with the flock.

Our attached run is about 450 square feet, but there are some weak spots around the door. Chicks would be able to squeeze out until about 4 weeks old, I think. My chicks last year didn’t go outside until about 6 weeks old, and I supervised any time in the run with the older chickens for about a week. That’s why I asked about a mama possibly going outside without the chicks. I’d have food and water in the brooding area, but I don’t know how long an adult hen would be content in there. The awesome part is that the adult flock gets tons of safe exposure and interaction at the netting. It’s right by their door to the outside, and the usual nest boxes are in there.

I also let the adult flock out to free range each day. Last year with chicks, I’d let the main flock out and put food and water outside the run. Then They’d get their exercise and the chicks could have freedom in the run for a little bit. I was also planning to get a straw bale in the run(I heard those can be great for boredom) as well as some pallets(small spaces chicks could squeeze into and hide).

This will all be easier next year when I build my detached brooding coop and run normally I wouldn’t mind the extra work to supervise, but I’m trying to think about doing it all with a newborn of my own. It really all depends on when the mama hens in question actually go broody. If they don’t go broody until about two weeks after I have my baby, I should be feeling pretty functional by the time babies come.

Picture didn't come through but I'd say the 20-24 square feet should be fine for that first week. The first 2-3 days of their chicks lives, the hen usually doesn't get up from the nest anyway, so it's really just a 4-7 period of days. Adding perches and other minor changes every day can help with boredom.

For weak areas, adding hardware cloth or overlapping something else to make the openings small enough to keep chicks from slipping out should be sufficient to keep the chicks in.

Having the run to the broody/chicks while the others are out should allow for good initial interactions, so that's a great plan. The advantage to a hen is she's the portable heater so the chicks can be out and about and run to her for the warmup. Pallets (check for nails that aren't into the wood) can be great exploring - straw in a moist environment I would avoid, great entertainment but the mold and capacity for parasites to live in the hollow straw can be a problem.

I've got one broody now but usually they start in earnest more in March/April. And if you're not ready when she does go broody, you can put her in a broody breaker and postpone her broody plans for a bit until you are ready!

 

[Stephanie8806]

Definitely double verify whether any particular camera end would need power (as in, be plugged in) - someone somewhere has to have solved this problem, right? I'm looking to upgrade mine to one that will move the camera from the TV part so I don't have to keep messing around trying to get the angle right in the nest box. Anyhow- just be aware that I could be incorrect about the camera operating on battery.

Also, I’m a doofus and didn’t attach the picture here it is:

 

[Shezadandy]

I will certainly look into it! I know I had a lot of trouble finding battery operated baby camera TVs/screens that had any sort of range when I had my first kiddo 3 years ago. But you’d think they’d have a solution!

Our coop is just under 300 feet from the house. Without wifi, I’d be pretty surprised for live image to transmit that far. Walkie talkies might be the best bet

These are supposed to operate out to 1000 feet. The problem is finding one with a camera that doesn't need a plug, although since you really only need the camera out there for 3-5 days (I go from day 17 of incubation to everyone hatched, first 2 days) it's no worse than having a cord out for the heat plate for broody-less chicks.

These baby monitors have come a long way since I got mine (for chickens, no kids, LOL) about 5 years ago!!! Even my old one works out in the coop (camera plugged in). You can always return whichever one you choose if it fails to work in the stated range. My old one worked even in a basement that had concrete walls with no windows between it and the coop.

 

[Stephanie8806]

Picture didn't come through but I'd say the 20-24 square feet should be fine for that first week. The first 2-3 days of their chicks lives, the hen usually doesn't get up from the nest anyway, so it's really just a 4-7 period of days. Adding perches and other minor changes every day can help with boredom.

For weak areas, adding hardware cloth or overlapping something else to make the openings small enough to keep chicks from slipping out should be sufficient to keep the chicks in.

Having the run to the broody/chicks while the others are out should allow for good initial interactions, so that's a great plan. The advantage to a hen is she's the portable heater so the chicks can be out and about and run to her for the warmup. Pallets (check for nails that aren't into the wood) can be great exploring - straw in a moist environment I would avoid, great entertainment but the mold and capacity for parasites to live in the hollow straw can be a problem.

I've got one broody now but usually they start in earnest more in March/April. And if you're not ready when she does go broody, you can put her in a broody breaker and postpone her broody plans for a bit until you are ready!

One of the reasons I was thinking straw bale is actually because our environment is pretty dry. I live in Washington, but it’s only the coastal regions that get the horrendous rain. I love on the east side of the state and it’s MUCH drier over here. Once the chicks were old enough, I’d remove the bale and mix it up in the poop pile I have composting for garden fertilizer next spring.