Is this a good idea or not

[Pats Poultry]

Hi All,
here is what I am thinking of doing. We think we want another chicken but would rather not raise a chick by itself and then introduce it to the other three. I have three pullets and one has already gone broody but I got her broke and she is back to normal. I presume that she will go broody again in time. When that happens I was thinking of getting a fertile egg from a gal that we know and put it under her if she will allow it. My real question is if this pullet is sitting on non fertile eggs for, lets say a week and then we put a fertile egg under her that is only 7 days from hatching. Does the broody know that under normal circumstances that it takes three weeks to hatch but this egg only took two? Also do you think she will take care of the chick. So with that said I am not so sure this is a good idea or not. Hope that all makes sense. Thoughts?????

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Chickens don't mark calendars, so the timing won't matter. That being said, setting a single egg is problematic on a couple of fronts.....1) no guarantee of hatch so setting more increases your odds 2) what will you do if the chick(s) should be male? An alternative is, if she does go broody again you can obtain 2-3 sexed chicks to graft to her

 

[PD-Riverman]

Why would you want to put egg under her that is mid way its incubation period? How will you get a eggs that's been incubating for 2 weeks? What if you got this one egg under her and it does not hatch, or it hatches but does not make it or its a rooster. Why not put 2 or 3 or 4 eggs under her---if they all hatch----give the ones you do not want away??

 

[jvls1942]

your idea is sound.
but, make a deal with the lady who you are getting the egg from that if it is a roo, she will take it.
if you can't, or don't want to have more than 4 chickens, total, don't set more than one egg.
it is almost impossible to give chickens away, especially roosters.
If the one egg doesn't hatch, try again.
the odds of the egg hatching are very good if it is already 2 weeks viable..
be prepared to take the chick if the hen doesn't take care of it..
then you will be back in the same boat as getting an already hatched chick.
I live in wisconsin, just come and pick out one of my young hens, free.

.....jiminwisc.......

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

your idea is sound.
but, make a deal with the lady who you are getting the egg from that if it is a roo, she will take it.
if you can't, or don't want to have more than 4 chickens, total, don't set more than one egg.
it is almost impossible to give chickens away, especially roosters.
If the one egg doesn't hatch, try again.
the odds of the egg hatching are very good if it is already 2 weeks viable..
be prepared to take the chick if the hen doesn't take care of it..
then you will be back in the same boat as getting an already hatched chick.
I live in wisconsin, just come and pick out one of my young hens, free.

.....jiminwisc.......

actually the moving of an egg 2 weeks into incubation is probleematic and will lessen the likelihood of successful hatching

 

[AquaDuck]

Can you get fresh, fertile eggs that aren't already been incubated? Eggs that are developing are much more fragile than fresh eggs when it comes to moving, temperatures etc.
Also, having just a single egg sound bad for a couple of reasons. If it dies and doesn't hatch, you'll either have to throw the hen off the eggs or put another egg under her. Being broody takes its toll on a hen's body, and she shouldn't have to be put through it longer that necessary.
Another thing is that a single chick will feel alone. Chickens are flock animals, and do much better when being with others of their kind. This includes chicks, who feel more comfortable in the the company of other chicks.
I'd put 3-4 eggs under her if I were you. Maybe the person you buy the eggs from can help you re home the ones you don't have room once they've grown up?

 

[jvls1942]

a little over a week ago a friend brought me 12 duck eggs that his duck had sat on for all but the last 8 days. she went missing, as in probably lunch for a fox.
he brought me the eggs the NEXT day and I put them into my incubator.
9 of the 12 hatched, the others were clears.

a lone chick with a hen is never lonely.

what happens if a person has too many chickens and can't rehome them ?? now what?
I see it happen all the time.
don't put yourself into that situation if you cannot bring yourself to butcher the extras..

..........jiminwisc.....

 

[The Moonshiner]

There's never a problem finding homes around here. And if they're free they usually are gone same day.

 

[jvls1942]

Moonshiner, good for you,
count your blessings.
unfortunately the person lives in Colorado.
I am in Wisc. I have been trying to get rid of my whole flock for months. I lowered the price on Craig's List for first time laying hens to $3.oo/each..3 months later I still have them.

 

[Pats Poultry]

Thank you all for the great responses. Here is what I have taken from this conversation. The gal that we will be getting the egg from is a friend and lives 5 minutes from us. We are just inside the cities boundry and she is in a rural area about a half a mile away. She is more than willing to take back a roo if that is what is hatched. I do believe that more than one egg is a better idea and if all hatch I can give back to extra chicks. We can only have 5 total chickens within the city but I only have room for 4 as my coop is only 4X4.

Ol Grey Mare why would it be problematic to move an egg two weeks in. Trying to learn all I can about these birds.