Information on hatching eggs

[Sayuz]

Hi. I've got three hens and a rooster. They are a local breed. The hens have started laying eggs. And since I don't own an incubator I was thinking of letting the hens hatch the eggs. So, I need some information on how to hatch eggs by the natural method. How many eggs should I give per hen? Will I need to provide heat? Will the rooster be a problem after the chicks have hatched? Will I have to separate him? Will it be better to remove the chicks after they've hatched or to leave them with the mother? Thanks in advance.

 

[LarryPQ]

OK- you'll only be able to give a hen eggs to sit on, if she has gone broody. If she is not broody, she will not sit on the eggs long enough for the eggs to develop and hatch.

No, you will not have to provide heat--hens can hatch eggs all by their lonesome, if they are so inclined. There is no real need to remove them from the mother hen, unless she is a bad momma.

How many eggs a hen will sit on is directly proportional to how large she is.

Chicks+Roo => Is dependent on the personality of the roo.

You can do some preliminary research by using the search function, or going here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=48726

 

[sonew123]

Wow first ...

second, Have you researched on here in the incubating section? lots of great info

Let me see if I can break this down into short easy answers


The hens have started laying eggs. And since I don't own an incubator I was thinking of letting the hens hatch the eggs. So, I need some information on how to hatch eggs by the natural method. How many eggs should I give per hen? Your hens have to go broody first before I would give them any. Meaning, They stay in their nests all day and night only to get off to eat and drink some and to poo. You cannot force them to be broody either. They have to be in that frame of mind all on their own. When you get a broody hen, the amount of eggs you put under her depends on her size..Is she a large fowl or a bantam?

Will I need to provide heat? No heat needed-the momma can keep the eggs and chicks warm without a problem-unless your allowing it to take place in the dead of Winter-then i would supply a heat lamp-just in case.

Will the rooster be a problem after the chicks have hatched? sometimes, as will the other hens. I use a broody cage-its a large cage with bedding, water, and chick crumbles, only mom can get in with the eggs and they will be seperately kept in same room as other chickens-to prevent chicks getting killed or lost within the others.


Will I have to separate him? Maybe and or the other hens as stated above

Will it be better to remove the chicks after they've hatched or to leave them with the mother? NO-not unless you see the mother attacking or hurting her babies. I wouldn't want to raise the babies my hen spent so much time working on-they are hers. I have never had to remove chicks but it does happen where the mom will attac and kill them the minute they hatch...Just keep and eye on them and see how it goes-if she hurts them -remove them and raise them yourself in a brooder with a heat lamp chick feed and water....

 

[Sayuz]

All right. I guess the temperature won't be a problem since the minimum temperature even in winter doesn't go below 10-15 C. They are not bantam but they haven't grown to their full size yet. It's their first batch of eggs. Is there an average ratio of the number of eggs hatching out of the ones I give them? Oh, and another thing....... Where can I store the eggs until she starts to get broody? I'm guessing.... not the fridge......

 

[LarryPQ]

The counter is best.

Your hatch rate is dependent on fertility and the hens' skill at sitting on the eggs. If both are good, you can easily hatch 100% of the eggs.

 

[sonew123]

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Ok you have alot of researching to do...Since your birds are not old enough to lay yet ( havent grown to full size yet) you have plenty of time to look up and read alot of information on here you'll need. Seriously...Absorb as much info as possible

Once one of your hens goes broody, and if they are fertile-she could hatch them all or none at all-Ive had both happen to me...Store eggs in a dark cool area where the temps are around 60 degrees-try and rotate the eggs like an incubator would to keep the yolks and such from sticking to one particualr side in egg...

 

[cmom]

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First

I agree with the other posts.
You can't store eggs while waiting for your pullet to go broody. The eggs are at their peak for the around 7 to 10 days after they're layed. After that the hatchability goes down. There is a thread by a BYC member who had saved 20 eggs for a month. Only 1 or 2 hatched and I don't think they survived.

 

[Sayuz]

Well.... One of the hens started to go broody since yesterday. She has made a kind of nest by collecting the husk and straw and sitting on that spot all day. She only leaves the nest once to eat and poop. Should I give her the eggs?

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
try it out! If she stays on them for more than 24 hrs straight..She appears to be broody. Mark the eggs so that no new eggs will be laid from the other hens-remove those as they get laid into the nest-keep only the ones you placed in there with her

 

[Sayuz]

All right. Thanx a lot for all the help guys. I'll keep you posted.