New to hatching, just got a rooster

[Jgrice]

hey there!

i’ve had hens for a few years now but just added a rooster to my flock of 7 hens. i’m doing it because i want chicks.

i’ve never raised chicks or hatched eggs. how does this process work?

how do i know which eggs are fertile?
will the hen go broody naturally?
what do i do once she broods on them and they’re ready to hatch?
do i have to move the mom and chicks to a separate coop, and for how long?

any info is helpful!

 

[nuthatched]

For fertility, check for a bullseye on the yolks. I'd get a good incubator, it's more reliable than waiting for a hen to go broody, since you can't do anything to encourage broodiness. And broody can typically only cover about 9-11 eggs.
It's best to keep a hen seperate while she's broody do she doesn't get other eggs added or fights in the nest box.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I only started using broodies this year because half the flock decided they wanted to be mommies haha. I don't have a rooster so I bought fertilized eggs and I did have to separate the hens. Some breeds are more apt to go broody so the odds might be in your favor there. If you do get a broody hen make sure you get her off the nest once a day or so to dust bathe and poop so she doesn't poop on the eggs. I put food and water in with her and then when the chicks were a little bigger she took them out for introductions. Make sure you have a good spot for her-preferably one that is quiet and comfortable where the other hens can still hear her and make sure she still gets out with the other hens so you don't have the hassle of reintegrating her and the chicks. Be warned, once the chicks start peeping the broodiness can become contagious

 

[Chicken poppy]

hey there!

i’ve had hens for a few years now but just added a rooster to my flock of 7 hens. i’m doing it because i want chicks.

i’ve never raised chicks or hatched eggs. how does this process work?

how do i know which eggs are fertile?
will the hen go broody naturally?
what do i do once she broods on them and they’re ready to hatch?
do i have to move the mom and chicks to a separate coop, and for how long?

any info is helpful!

If a rooster mates the hen you have a change of the egg being fertile, but this isn’t a 100% thing as they can decline it and they might be to young/old. Cracking eggs will have a pretty big bullseye and will be noticeably fertile while non fertile ones are much thinner.

You can’t force one to go broody, so yes, it’s natural.
Really, nothing. Let her do her thing and prep a incubator just incase and have a brooder set up for them to go in or a area for momma and her babies. While they hatched i took the eggshells out for comfort but she will probably do that.

It’s recommended you do, it causes less issues. Mine kept trying to lay on top of the broody hen and the rooster kept attempting to mate her. This usually causes them to abandon the nest or the eggs getting broken.
If you separate (i recommend you do!) do it til the hatch is over plus any additional time if necessary. (I separated mine for another two weeks after because it was much to cold out. She wasn’t quite ready to introduce the chicks to the others yet either.) After they hatch make sure their feathers are fully fluffed before moving, so you might want to give it at-least two days after hatch. She will do the mixing in for you so let her do her thing, nature takes care of most of it. She will teach them how to do things, give them warmth, etc. Just give her a safe comfy place and let her do her thing!

She will get off the nest every day or every few days to poop, eat, and drink. If you bring her food and water (which isn’t usually a good idea, sometimes they poop in the nest though they try and hold it) she will come out less. But mine came out everyday, my other one came out every week, and obviously i had to bring her food since she wouldn’t get off to eat. Each chicken is different but i would recommend making them come out to eat and not bringing it to them. Everyone does things slightly different but it is important to note not to turn her eggs for her (she will turn them herself)


Also don’t be alarmed by the poop size, they will hold it in til they leave the nest away from the eggs (or try their best to) so sometimes it can end up being as big as cow poop. It’s normal.

 

[Ridgerunner]

how do i know which eggs are fertile?

You don't. There is no practical way for us to check if a specific egg is fertilized other than to incubate it and see if it develops. However, you can check eggs for the bull's eye. If one egg the hen lays is fertile the others probably are too. This link will show you what you are looking for.

How to Tell a Fertile vs INfertile Egg (Pictures) | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

will the hen go broody naturally?

You've had hens for a few years, have they gone broody? Getting a rooster won't change that. Many hens have had the broodiness bred out of them. Any hen of any breed can possibly go broody, you read about them on here all the time, but many will never go broody. You cannot control when a hen goes broody even if she is one that does sometimes go broody. The only way you can control when or even if would be to get an incubator.

If your hens have gone broody in the past they probably will in the future. If they haven't by now they probably never will.

what do i do once she broods on them and they’re ready to hatch?
do i have to move the mom and chicks to a separate coop, and for how long?

This response could get very long but I'll try to be brief. You have several options. Some people let the broody hen incubate and hatch with the flock and raise the chicks with the flock. Others isolate the hen for some or all of these. I believe what your facilities look like has a bearing on what might be best for you. If you have an elevated coop or are tight in space, either in the coop or outside, I might recommend isolation in some phases. If you have excess room then isolation isn't as important.

 

[ShaneZ]

hey there!

i’ve had hens for a few years now but just added a rooster to my flock of 7 hens. i’m doing it because i want chicks.

i’ve never raised chicks or hatched eggs. how does this process work?

how do i know which eggs are fertile?
will the hen go broody naturally?
what do i do once she broods on them and they’re ready to hatch?
do i have to move the mom and chicks to a separate coop, and for how long?

any info is helpful!

I recommend you buy yourself an incubator. Order one or get one from your local classifieds. Fill it to the the max with eggs. Candle them about half way through. Toss out the bad ones. Read here on BYC while you wait 21 days.

That is what I did a few years ago right after I got my rooster. Not a dang clue what I was doing but by the 21st day I had some chicks. After a few more hatches, I was over a 95% success rate. And that was using them Little Giant ones from Tractor Supply too.

Clean, fresh, fertilized eggs at the right temp and humidity for 21 days and you will have your chicks.