Incubate or Hatch?

[ojust4today]

Hello chicken family,

I need your expertise on a hen dilemma I’m experiencing. We need more hens for our flock. I have had to recently turn down several people interested in buying eggs because I was sold out. Therefore, we will need to get more hens. We usually get about 20 in the spring. Last year we waited until late summer ended up paying $10 each for pullets. All summer last year I had two brooders. They sat daily in the nesting boxes.
I have never allowed a hen to hatch out chicks. Having lil ones I would imagine that is so exciting and pretty spectacular to see nature take its course and the mamma show the babies the ins and outs of life.
I have incubated and out of 75 eggs hatched 13 hens. It was the first time and we did it sooner then the eggs were fertile obviously.
So my question is with the need for a larger flock present what should we do to make that happen. Will last years brooders be broody again this season? Should I allow them to sit on a bunch of eggs and set them up a separate place for their babies. Incubate more eggs and hope I get the fertile ones this time? Or put in the order to the Amish man for our 20 hens as usual. They would arrive around April.

If anyone could answer these additional questions. When do hens start preparing to hatch out chicks for the spring? I do not have any sitting hens right now, so I would have to wait for a hen to become broody, does that usually happen the same time each year?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can't predict when a hen will go broody or whether they do it more than once.
I've had pullets start setting after laying just about 5-10 eggs and some not until they were 3 ears old. I've had them sit any time from March to October. However, April thru June seem to be most popular.
I like using broody hens to hatch eggs. Their success rate is usually pretty high. I break first time broodies if they are under a year of age because they tend to not get it right all the time. The advantage, besides a high success rate is that they take no electricity for incubating and brooding or tending the incubator.
The downside is that the broody will not be producing eggs for about 8 weeks or so.
I usually move them to their own broody apartment but also put them back with their original flock while she is still watching over them. If you wait till she weans them, she won't protect them from the other flock mates. Introducing them when the chicks are small, the rest of the flock will learn that they are part of the flock.
If your rooster to hen ratio is appropriate, all your eggs should be fertile. If you had a low hatch rate, it was either a problem with incubation or breeder nutrition, not infertility.

 

[Farm life101]

It’s fairly easy to get a hen to be Brody. You just have to set up a nesting box with eggs in them and separate it from other chickens but still a normal habitat and put her with them and within a day or two she should go Brody ( that’s how I get mine to go Brody). My chickens go Brody different times of year never the same times so it just depends on the chicken and if it feels like going Brody. LOL. Hope you can hatch some more chicks good luck! If the hen does sit on the eggs then all you have to do is make sure they have food and water and the mom will take care of the rest

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If you fill a nest with eggs hoping for a hen to go broody, your success rate will be anywhere between O% and 20% depending on what breed you have.
If you have cochins or silkies it will work about 20% of the time.
If Polish, Sebrights, Welsummers Leghorns, Anconas, Minorcas or most other Mediterranean breeds, you'll be waiting till the cows come home for them to be broody. Meaning zero to 2% chance.
I have had Leghorns go broody but it is very rare.
Other breeds in the American, Continental and English class are variable.

 

[ojust4today]

Chicken canoe— you said she won’t protect them during weaning. Could you emphasize on that part.
Also I have Rhode Island reds over several years I have had 4 hens in this breed that were broody. Very loyal to sitting on the eggs for a long period of time. If I remember correctly they were all pretty young if that makes a difference.
Also you mentioned rooster to hen ratio. I have one rooster for 30 hens. Is that acceptable to the ratio?

Thank you both for taking the time to answer my concerns!

Farm life101–thank you, was not aware I could encourage this with my hens. Will def give this a try.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So it looks like you've found the fertility issue. That's too many hens for a rooster to cover effectively. For RIRs, about 10-12 hens per rooster assures fertile eggs. Roosters have favorite hens and depending on the rooster, he might not get around to 10 or more of the hens in your flock.

Normally, RIRs rarely go broody but those that do have good mothering instincts.

What I mean is that a hen with baby chicks will fiercely defend them. Once the chicks are older and don't need constant attention, she may still defend them or she may ignore if they get into squabbles. It is variable. I've had a hen attack me if I touched one of her older chicks so she stayed protective almost to the chicks' adulthood.

 

[ojust4today]

Wow, thanks so much for this info. It’s all very useful.