Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

She's the only adult hen in there. She's in a coop with her roo and 4 younger unrelated silkies, and none of them even go inside the nesting area (and not old enough to be laying or sexed yet). We haven't had any broken eggs when she was laying.

That sounds like a good plan! Thank you!

Sounds like you are good to go, then!

Just give her the serema eggs sometime from day 10-14....I am a firm believer in allowing the broody time to feel the eggs moving the last few days and hearing the chicks starting to peep the day before hatch to help her adjust to hatching mode and transition to mama mode ....see my post from yesterday about the brooding stages.... inexperienced hens take just a bit more time and observation....some make awesome mama hens, some take a bit of time and assistance to the new role and some just aren't cut out for it and only time will tell.

 

[Faraday40]

Cookie is still sitting on all 11 eggs. I decided not to go through the trouble of removing her, so I put up the netting again. She has water & a cup of feed. When I do the morning routine, I open the net, so she can have a bio break. The net is really there to protect Cookie from the bigger hens. One in particular is a nosy, gossip. She's constantly checking under every hen in the coop to see when new eggs are laid. Then sometimes, she'll push a hen out in order to take over a preferred nest.

 

[FarmerMac]

Good idea, it should work keeping other hens out. Have you candled the eggs to see which are developing and which ones are duds? Good luck with your hatch.

 

[Angie16hearts]

Yay I had two bantams hatch. Of course they are the surprise ones but i'm Narrowing It down to a Mir fluer. I had a cuckoo maroon and I believe a first generation Olive egger. The othe two were good when lock down started. Sad ! Anyways I have a question. I've always hatched my own eggs or ordered when a roo was not around.
I was at the store reading prices of eggs and came across a local egg farm. There eggs are at the store and say fertile.
Can or has anyone ever tried to hatch a store bought fertile egg? If yes what were the results ?

 

[StarMeKritten]

Yay I had two bantams hatch. Of course they are the surprise ones but i'm Narrowing It down to a Mir fluer. I had a cuckoo maroon and I believe a first generation Olive egger. The othe two were good when lock down started. Sad ! Anyways I have a question. I've always hatched my own eggs or ordered when a roo was not around.
I was at the store reading prices of eggs and came across a local egg farm. There eggs are at the store and say fertile.
Can or has anyone ever tried to hatch a store bought fertile egg? If yes what were the results ?

Congratulations on your hatch!

There's actually a whole thread dedicated to hatching fertile grocery store eggs. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...cery-store-egg-hatching-club-are-you-a-member

I have never done it, but only because I have never been able to find fertile eggs in the grocery stores around here.

 

[Faraday40]

Yay I had two bantams hatch. Of course they are the surprise ones but i'm Narrowing It down to a Mir fluer. I had a cuckoo maroon and I believe a first generation Olive egger. The othe two were good when lock down started. Sad ! Anyways I have a question. I've always hatched my own eggs or ordered when a roo was not around.
I was at the store reading prices of eggs and came across a local egg farm. There eggs are at the store and say fertile.
Can or has anyone ever tried to hatch a store bought fertile egg? If yes what were the results ?

Fertile eggs being sold in a store must be a CA thing. There are threads talking about Trader Joes & Whole Foods having fertile eggs. I've never seen them in IL, WI, or IN. What I have seen is people selling "farm fresh eggs" at farmers markets or off Craigslist. If they show a pic of their flock & it has a roo.......yes, they MIGHT hatch. Of course they wash, refrigerate, & transport the eggs, so the hatch rate will not be great.

The best way to get cheap fertile eggs is to ask around on a local BYC thread (also fun to meet up with local chicken people) or ask the people with the egg sales if they have roosters. They may ask $1-2 more b/c they must collect fresh & select the best /cleanest eggs, but the price will usually be less than 1/2 of eBay eggs & hatch rates will be much higher.

 

[kilby]

How would you clean an egg under a brooding hen when she defecated on it and it has dried and hardened. I guess the membrane coating is going to be destroyed if you clean it and bacteria is going to kill the chick if you don't? Anyone had this happen and what was the resulting hatch like? thank you.

 

[Faraday40]

i would simply remove whatever poop you can without washing the eggs. I had a rotten egg explode all over the broody & her eggs. (on Day 8) I only removed the broken egg & wet shavings. I didn't clean or wipe the eggs & simply left the broody alone. Seven of the eight remaining eggs hatched.

 

[luvmychicken]

We have chicks hatching. Yaaa! This never gets old. I get excited every time.

 

[Faraday40]

We have chicks hatching. Yaaa! This never gets old. I get excited every time.

Congrats & don't forget to share the pics!