picking eggs for broody hen

[pintail_drake2004]

Hey folks,

So, my wife and I are interested in making one of our broody hens sit on some eggs. We are looking to mainly hatch some of our chickens (BO, BR, Ameraucana, Black Australorps, and RIR) for meat. But wouldn't be opposed to hatching some to replace our laying flock. Last time (the only time we hatched out some of our eggs) we were just trying to see if we could get some hatched. What are some things ya'll look for when selecting eggs to hatch? I don't need to have a 50/50 sex hatch, because we will butcher most of them.

 

[sourland]

If you are looking for egg production, select eggs from your most prolific layers. If you are looking for meat birds, select eggs from your largest hens.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

We banded all the chickens (20 hens, 3 roosters) but most of the eggs are laid before we get home from work. We do know who our broody hens are, because they are always in the nest boxes-and their bands. As for who lays which egg, IDK. The are all brown except the 4 ameraucanas and the polish. We were talking about taking the largest jumbo eggs and trying for them. We both have Masters of Science, so surely there is some science behind which eggs to select to hatch. I guess we may need to isolate some hens to collect eggs. How long will the hen stay fertile from the rooster after they are bred?

 

[Nksg75]

It varies, however I have had a hen fertile up to 3 1/2 weeks after the rooster left.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

so, if we separate some hens and collect their eggs for a few weeks, then add a rooster to fertilize them, we could collect their eggs for about 3 weeks and know for sure they are from that particular rooster?