New to incubating

[kiralouise21]

Hi all we are new to incubating we have a large flock with cockerel and where wondering if an egg laid by the hen can be put into an incubator, and if so how can we be sure there fertile without cancelling ie picking the best eggs etc thanks

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Other than incubating, the only way to know for sure is to open some of her eggs and look for the bullseye. The germinal disk is the white dot on an egg yolk. If it is a solid dot it is infertile. If it is a halo or donut it is fertile.
How old is the cockerel and how many layers and what breeds?
It is best to wait till the cock matures a bit.
If the cock is a light breed you can have a 1:12-15 ratio. If he is a heavy breed 1:8-10 is a better ratio.

 

[kiralouise21]

Our cock is mature we have two a larger one and a black mottled pekin cockerel then hens we have red porcelain Pekin, lavender and white polish Pekins black Pekins, black rocks Marian's, splash Marian , white Sussex, bluebells, calder rangers and cluckers