My first ever egg!! Advice please

[emilythestrange]

I have just found my first ever egg!! From my silkie chickens. She laid it under a swing. It has definitely only just been laid a couple of hours ago.
I’m not 100% on which out of the two older hens it was... and my cockrel is mating with both multiple times per day.

ideally I’d like to raise some chicks either to sell or keep (not sure)
I don’t know what to do! I was planning be on letting nature take its course as silkies are supposed to be broody? But ive put the egg inside the coop along with a decal egg..
I added two new hens on Thursday.. which haven’t gelled with the group yet and they seem scared still at the moment and overwhelmed.
I free range the chickens and lock them in a coop at night.
Advice please!!!

 

[All4Eggz]

First, Welcome!
You do not need a cockerel for hens to lay eggs. They would be fine laying eggs without one.
If you want them fertilized (which in this case, it looks like you do), then having a rooster is ideal.

You cannot just put the eggs in the nest and expect them to go broody, you must wait until the chicken TURNS broody, then you can put the egg/eggs under her to hatch. It takes 21 days to hatch a chick.
You can eat the eggs/sell them until one of the silkies goes broody.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not totally sure I understand what questions you have. I'll try but this may not be what you are after.

Do not hatch any eggs until you know why you are hatching them. There is enough stress in life without stressing over little lives that you don't know what you are going to do with. If you hatch some will be boys. Do you have a plan for those?

I'd eat that egg and every egg they laid for at least a month after they start laying. Many pullet eggs will hatch, even when they just start laying, but often the hatch rate won't be that great. Everything about that egg needs to be right for it to hatch a healthy chick. Often pullets just starting to lay don't get everything right, it takes a while for them to get the bugs out of that internal egg-making process. Give them time to get it right. Besides, the first pullet eggs are usually pretty small compared to what size they will lay later. Any chicks that do hatch will be pretty small. Give them time to lay larger eggs that will hatch better.

There is no way to know if any of yours will even go broody this year or at any time. Yours might but you can't make them and you sure can't time it. My suggestion is to keep eating all the eggs until a hen goes broody. Then collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them all at the same time. That way you can avoid a staggered hatch. Some people may thrive on drama but I would not wish the stress and heartache that often goes with a staggered hatch on anyone. Start them all at the same time. A broody hen will hatch any hen's eggs, it doesn't have to be her own.

If you want suggestions on integration tell us what you have to work with. How many, how old, and what sex are all the chickens and what do your facilities look like. How big are the coops and runs and maybe the free range area?

 

[All4Eggz]

I'm not totally sure I understand what questions you have. I'll try but this may not be what you are after.

Do not hatch any eggs until you know why you are hatching them. There is enough stress in life without stressing over little lives that you don't know what you are going to do with. If you hatch some will be boys. Do you have a plan for those?

I'd eat that egg and every egg they laid for at least a month after they start laying. Many pullet eggs will hatch, even when they just start laying, but often the hatch rate won't be that great. Everything about that egg needs to be right for it to hatch a healthy chick. Often pullets just starting to lay don't get everything right, it takes a while for them to get the bugs out of that internal egg-making process. Give them time to get it right. Besides, the first pullet eggs are usually pretty small compared to what size they will lay later. Any chicks that do hatch will be pretty small. Give them time to lay larger eggs that will hatch better.

There is no way to know if any of yours will even go broody this year or at any time. Yours might but you can't make them and you sure can't time it. My suggestion is to keep eating all the eggs until a hen goes broody. Then collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them all at the same time. That way you can avoid a staggered hatch. Some people may thrive on drama but I would not wish the stress and heartache that often goes with a staggered hatch on anyone. Start them all at the same time. A broody hen will hatch any hen's eggs, it doesn't have to be her own.

If you want suggestions on integration tell us what you have to work with. How many, how old, and what sex are all the chickens and what do your facilities look like. How big are the coops and runs and maybe the free range area?

Agreed. Good info.

Yes, it would help if you attached pics of your flock, run, coop, etc.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Chickens wont be broody when they automatically see a egg, only when they are broody they will care and tend for the egg. I recommend your best bet is to figure out what to do with it, if you do decide to use it for cooking you can tell if its fertile (So you get a better chance knowing that the eggs you currently have are PROBABLY fertile) You can simply look at the eggs top and if you see a white bullseye at the top it was/is fertile. If you choose to sell it make sure its clean and that you keep the egg at the right temperature. If you want to hatch it then get a incubator. Heres what i know so you can hatch it. this isnt even close to everything so do your research! Chicken eggs can be told by the color and size of eggs. The egg you have has a good chance of hatching! *This being because its not a fart egg* a egg thats to small and round to have anything inside. If you di hatch it make sure theres other chicks aswell so it doesnt get lonely. Before introducing the chick to the rest of the flock quarantine it so it doesnt get picked on. When hatching eggs you can keep the temperature roughly to 100* F. Dont get it to much more. You can candle for the rough 1-17 days but day 3 Will show better results then day 1 or 2. Finally keep the humitity balanced, not all people do humity but for a better hatch i highly recommend doing so. Keep it roughly at 50* is a good humity level. It can go up to 68* or so, dont get it to hot. Tell me if you have More questions! Good luck .

 

[Chicken poppy]

I have just found my first ever egg!! From my silkie chickens. She laid it under a swing. It has definitely only just been laid a couple of hours ago.
I’m not 100% on which out of the two older hens it was... and my cockrel is mating with both multiple times per day.

ideally I’d like to raise some chicks either to sell or keep (not sure)
I don’t know what to do! I was planning be on letting nature take its course as silkies are supposed to be broody? But ive put the egg inside the coop along with a decal egg..
I added two new hens on Thursday.. which haven’t gelled with the group yet and they seem scared still at the moment and overwhelmed.
I free range the chickens and lock them in a coop at night.
Advice please!!!View attachment 2659831

Id recommend if you do try to hatch it though, to keep it in a incubator until your chickens broody, she probably wont be broody right away and can take a while. *My other thread shows how to incubate them properly*

 

[All4Eggz]

Id recommend if you do try to hatch it though, to keep it in a incubator until your chickens broody, she probably wont be broody right away and can take a while. *My other thread shows how to incubate them properly*

She might not even go broody. Who knows how young she is. Usually they get broody after a year old, in my experience.
I wouldn't try hatching any until it turns broody.
You can eat the eggs for now, until on of them gets broody, then you can start collecting and storing in a cool-humid room/storage area.

 

[Lemonbar]

after it hatches wash it and put it IN the water and see if it float or not

 

[Lemonbar]

after it hatches wash it and put it IN the water and see if it float or not

not hatches sorry after a egg is laid then do that

 

[Chicken poppy]

She might not even go broody. Who knows how young she is. Usually they get broody after a year old, in my experience.
I wouldn't try hatching any until it turns broody.
You can eat the eggs for now, until on of them gets broody, then you can start collecting and storing in a cool-humid room/storage area.

True, but assuming for a chick to lay a egg they are roughly 1 year or a bit shorter, years old. I would assume it would be broody decently soon. But you never know, it could be pretty young and it would take a while to go broody, id have to see the chicken to know the age personally.