How long can eggs be held before putting in incubator??

[RobinFarmGirl]

Hello,

I've read someone's opinion that an egg can be held out for up to 10 days before putting it into an incubator. However, doesn't a hen lay eggs until she gets up to 20 or so eggs before sitting on them? That means the first egg she laid is 20 days old before being incubated (by the hen).

Thanks for any replies,
Robin

 

[Joshua G]

A hen will usually lay 8-15 eggs before she goes broody.
You can usually get a 70% or better hatch rate from eggs stored no longer than 10 days but, for every extra day beyond 10 that they are stored, the hatch rate decreases by 1%.
Hope this helps.

 

[Farmer Viola]

hens usually lay in a communal nest, favoring the nest with the most eggs (in my experience). so I think it is likely that she would cover eggs laid by a few hen's from the flock, and the hens would move on to the next nest while she sat on the full one. so she wouldn't necessarily have to fill it with 20 of her own eggs!

 

[RobinFarmGirl]

Joshua G & Farmer Viola,

Thank you for the replies! I only have a bantam rooster & my hens (except 1 bantam) are regular sized so he wouldn't fertilize the eggs. I get the eggs several times a day and don't leave them in the nest so I have no experience with a broody hen.

Robin

 

[Joshua G]

You are welcome!