Letting your hens “incubate” naturally?

[Rbrown369]

Has anyone had success just leaving what you think are fertilized eggs in the coop and seeing if a hen will hatch them?

My buddy did literally nothing to try to hatch chicks, he just didn’t collect all eggs because he hadn’t seen all of them. and one day there were a bunch of baby chicks that had hatched. And it was in the cold months too.

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

Yes it can be done, but I wouldn’t just leave eggs in there since they can go bad. I would wait until a hen goes broody and then put some eggs under her and you can write like an X on the eggs you put under her so you can still collect eggs that other hens might lay while she’s in the nest box or off to eat for a bit. After a few days candle the eggs to check progress and get rid of bad eggs since they will explode after time since they just rot. Good luck.

 

[JaeG]

Not all hens will go broody. Some breeds have a tendency to go broody, others, especially production breeds, may never go broody. And not all broody hens are good at being mothers either, so it's something that needs monitoring.

When a hen is broody she will often hide herself and her eggs away in a place she knows her nest won't be disturbed.

 

[Rbrown369]

I have a duck that is constantly broody. Maybe I’ll throw a chicken egg under her lol