natural hatching.

[travisward]

I am new to raising chickens and I want the Hens to hatch their eggs naturally. How long should I let her lay on them before candling?

 

[peebee]

I'm kinda new to this but I heard all the cool stuff to look at happens from day 7 - 11.

P.S. It's true

 

[Drewnkat]

How old are your chickens? I ask because for one, you won't want to try to set and incubate "pullet" eggs that haven't reached full size and maturity yet.

Also, it can be common for pullets under a year old to either not have the desire to go broody, or worse, start out sitting for a few days and then decide to quit.

Do you know what breeds were used to produce your red sex links? If they weren't breeds that tend to go broody, you may have to wait a while before you have a hen interested in motherhood.

What some folks do is acquire a hen from a breed known for going broody fairly consistently, then setting eggs under her to raise when she shows an interest. That way, you get the chicks from (whatever breed your eggs are) but raised by the nurturing qualities of the broody hen.

I wish you good luck with increasing your flock the old fashioned way! None of my girls have had even the tiniest notion to sit on eggs so far, which is why I decided to give try out the old incubator I found in the shed. It's a bit of a hassle, but you do get a front row seat for all the action when they start hatching!

 

[travisward]

I'm kinda new to this but I heard all the cool stuff to look at happens from day 7 - 11.

P.S. It's true

OK thanks. I've only raised meat birds and we usually eat them before they lay. I just got a RIR rooster to breed my red sex links. I'm hoping we get lots of babies.

 

[peebee]

OK thanks. I've only raised meat birds and we usually eat them before they lay. I just got a RIR rooster to breed my red sex links. I'm hoping we get lots of babies.

No problem.

 

[travisward]

How old are your chickens? I ask because for one, you won't want to try to set and incubate "pullet" eggs that haven't reached full size and maturity yet.

Also, it can be common for pullets under a year old to either not have the desire to go broody, or worse, start out sitting for a few days and then decide to quit.

Do you know what breeds were used to produce your red sex links? If they weren't breeds that tend to go broody, you may have to wait a while before you have a hen interested in motherhood.

What some folks do is acquire a hen from a breed known for going broody fairly consistently, then setting eggs under her to raise when she shows an interest. That way, you get the chicks from (whatever breed your eggs are) but raised by the nurturing qualities of the broody hen.

I wish you good luck with increasing your flock the old fashioned way! None of my girls have had even the tiniest notion to sit on eggs so far, which is why I decided to give try out the old incubator I found in the shed. It's a bit of a hassle, but you do get a front row seat for all the action when they start hatching!

My hens are just over a year old. They are cross bred with white leghorn and Rhode Island Red.

 

[Drewnkat]

Well, Rhode Islands and Leghorns are not breeds that go broody very often, they have been selectively bred for high egg production, and broody hens stop laying.

That's not to say they won't ever go broody, but if you're eager to get some hatching action, you're likely to get faster results if you use an incubator OR get a breed known for being good mothers. Silkies, Cochins, Orpingtons... there are lots of good broody-breed hens. Dual-purpose breeds tend to have higher broodiness rates than egg-production breeds.