Put Eggs back or Trash them?

[rosco]

We took four laying hens from their rooster to our home about a week ago. We've been told we had ~3 weeks of fertile eggs. we don't have or plan to have an incubator.

We took two eggs out of the nest box/coop thinking they'd freeze tonight (hens are brooding that we can see and sleeping elsewhere). i stuck them in a terrarium that maintains a constant temperature but in a gradient. I/we don't have the ability to turn the eggs every two or three hours.

ARRRRG! make that one egg. dog just snagged the blue one. shall i leave the egg in the terrarium and turn it when i can? put it back in the nest box? trash it?

rosco

 

[Uzuri]

Do you really want chicks? Because otherwise, just eat the eggs. It's really not a big deal. If you take them out ever day it's not like you're going to find a little chick in them.

 

[Katy]

The hens are not broody if they are sleeping on a roost and not in the nest box. If you don't plan on getting an incubator you should just eat the eggs since the terranium isn't going to make a good substitute for one.

 

[rcentner]

it's best to not try to hatch them. If it's not done right you will end up with malformed or unhealthy chicks. I learned the hard way after a hen of mine decided to get off her eggs after a few weeks. hatching baby chicks require a lot of care and knowledge. After giving it a go earlier this year, I decided that I will only have chicks if the hen does all the work! Good luck!

 

[rosco]

Okay. we want a hen to take on broodiness and raise them herself. so, do i trash the one egg in the terrarium or put it back in the nest?

even if it is bad at this point, will it help to stimulate broodiness?

We aren't ready to start eating their eggs. it is a mental block that should go away.

 

[rosco]

I'm curious about the chick emblems next to the titles of the posts in each forum. What do they indicate?

 

[poultryhaven]

Quote:
I wonder about that too!

 

[rosco]

I put three plastic eggs (colored) in each nest box. hopefully that will stimulate broodiness. the original question: should the egg go back in the nest box or should i trash it? we won't eat the eggs for a while. probably give them to a neighbor if anything.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
I wonder about that too!

The chick indicates that there are new posts, that you have not read.

Imp

 

[rosco]

Thanks. it indicates new posts since my last login or since my BYC ID inception.

I voted for Anne. What is her BYC ID? She's answered several questions but i've forgotten ID.

-rosco