Mama hens

[Painted Lady]

So, can and/or should you take non-broody hen's eggs and place them with another hen to be hatched and raised?

 

[Blooie]

So, can and/or should you take non-broody hen's eggs and place them with another hen to be hatched and raised?

If the hen you want to put them under is definitely broody, and the eggs in question are fertile, then absolutely.

 

[Painted Lady]

How do I know if they are fertile or not? And is it ok to write dates on the eggs?

 

[Pork Pie]

How do I know if they are fertile or not?

This link may help you out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures

Good luck
CT

 

[Blooie]

How do I know if they are fertile or not? And is it ok to write dates on the eggs?

I see my buddy CT covered that just as I was getting ready to answer! Good job, CT...I was looking for that link so you saved me a little time!

 

[Pork Pie]

I see my buddy CT covered that just as I was getting ready to answer! Good job, CT...I was looking for that link so you saved me a little time!

Always glad to be of assistance, Blooie

 

[chikdukturkmom]

I had a broody hen recently. All the eggs under her were brown so it was hard to tell if they were fertile, even with the flashlight. Only 1 turned out to be infertile, and 2 were underdeveloped and didnt make it. There was 15 eggs total she was on. And my other chickens were placing eggs in her nest when she came out to eat the first few days... then i closed up the box and let her brood alone and i think it was an excellent success rate...? I didnt transfer her til after 24 days and the last 3 eggs were still laying there untouched...

 

[Pork Pie]

How do I know if they are fertile or not? And is it ok to write dates on the eggs?

Sure, i use an ordinary pencil

 

[lazy gardener]

So, can and/or should you take non-broody hen's eggs and place them with another hen to be hatched and raised?

The important thing is that all of the eggs you set under that broody are set on the same day. You don't want any late comers to her clutch. She'll abandon those when the first eggs hatch so she can take care of the first chicks. Hen's don't care where the eggs come from. They'll happily set on chicken eggs, pea hen eggs, turkey or duck eggs, rocks, their own feet, air... I even heard of a hen setting a turtle egg. Don't know how truthful that story was.

I had a broody hen recently. All the eggs under her were brown so it was hard to tell if they were fertile, even with the flashlight. Only 1 turned out to be infertile, and 2 were underdeveloped and didnt make it. There was 15 eggs total she was on. And my other chickens were placing eggs in her nest when she came out to eat the first few days... then i closed up the box and let her brood alone and i think it was an excellent success rate...? I didnt transfer her til after 24 days and the last 3 eggs were still laying there untouched...

That looks like a GMO hen/centipede.

Sure, i use an ordinary pencil

Some folks even use a sharpie. Pencil tends to wear off under a hen.

You can check general flock fertility every time you crack an egg open by looking for the blastodisk. (Go to hatching eggs 101 for an excellent overview of the hatching process. It will teach you a lot, even though it mainly deals with incubator hatching.) Once the hen has been setting for a week, you can candle her eggs, and remove any duds if the shells are light colored enough that you can see inside them. But most folks just let the hen do her own thing. She will often eat any duds. But... you do risk the issue of any broken eggs contaminating the sound eggs.

 

[chikdukturkmom]

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