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lcharmer

lcharmer

Hatching
8 Years
Jul 3, 2011
3
0
7
Hi to everyone,
I have had two chickens for a couple of years, and decided recently to get 2 new chicks.
One disappeared???? and the other one has, in the las 2 days confirmed that I have a rooster. Not quite what I had planned, or the neighbours
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So he has been doing his thing with the girls, and I really have no idea about what to expect or do in relation to chicks.
Any help would be much appreciated.
A few questions:-
How do I know if the eggs are fertile?
What do I do if the girls dont want to sit on them?
How long do eggs stay hatchable if not sat on all the time?
Anything you can think of that will help me out informationwise, please share.
Thanks
 
How old are your chicks? How did one disappear? As far as I know you cannot tell if the egg is fertile or not until it has been in the incubator for a few days. You have to wait for your girls to go broody and then they will sit on the eggs. The kind of chickens you have influences how often they go broody…(silkies tend to be very broody)
I do not try to hatch eggs that are older than five days, but I think they last about seven days. Do not refrigerate eggs you want to hatch. I have never hatched eggs under a broody hen before as I always use an incubator. The one time I tried it I ended up taking the eggs away just before they hatched and placing them in the incubator. If your roo is a chick the eggs probably are not fertile yet.

This is a good starter incubator:
http://www.amazon.com/9200-1602b-St...Z8W0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309676014&sr=8-1

BTW
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My chickens are about 2 years old, my little rooster man is probably 12 months old ish. Like I say hes only just found his voice, so only young.
I dont think he will be staying long, neighbours wont put up with him for long
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From what you have said, Im guessing my rooster is having a practise with the chickens, and maybe too young to be fertile.
The thought of eating eggs that could be chicks just makes me queazy.
 
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from California

You can break an egg open to check fertility. The will be a bull's eye on the yolk.

Most try to set by 5-7 days. Some will wait longer, but the eggs need to be kept cool, so they don't start to develop. Some have even had 3 week old eggs hatch, but the fresher the better.

Several of us have hatched eggs we kept in the fridge as well as fertile eggs bought at grocery stores like Safeway and Trader Joe's. Doesn't always woork, but it's been done.

If you're looking for something fun to do, try the learning section and build your own incubator. You can usually do it for under $20 for a cheapie styro ice chest bator.

Read the posts and learning sections on this site. There's so much here to help you.

Ask questions. You now have access to some of the best chicken people around, so don't be shy.
 
Quote:
If they don't get incubated they don't have chicks. Period. They are like any other egg. Nothing happens until the are set and the heating period starts and takes 21 days for a chick to hatch. But you don't have to worry about eating a chick. LOL That's always so funny to me. Sorry.
Your roo is plenty old enough to be fertile. Most of my younger boys are about 6 months old and they know what their doing. They don't like to just practice. LOL
 
Thanks for your help
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I noticed that alot of people from America, Im in Australia!
 
Quote:
Okay if he is 12mo then he should be fertile, but you said he just started crowing? Mine usually start around 3-6mo depending on the breed… I have raised lots of chicks over the last ten years or so, but I have only been keeping full grown chickens for three years… so I do not know exactly when they become fertile. You won’t find any dead chicks so long as the eggs have not been sat on… I collect mine when I go out in the morning to feed them and then I take a quick look at night for any late ones. Like the others have said you can crack an egg open and look for a small (pin head sized) dark speck attached to the yoke. The reason you don’t refrigerate hatching eggs is because it greatly reduces your hatch rate, so it wastes good eggs. I put the eggs I am collecting in a basket in my basement where it is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and then pop them in the incubator when they reach five days.
Are you sure your neighbors won’t let you keep a rooster? It is so much fun to hatch your very own eggs! Of course you still can by getting eggs from someone else…
good luck : )
 

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