Silkies and Eggs!

[Begforhelp]

Hi so a little background. Bear with me. I received 2 silkies for my birthday aftet months of wanting to have a few chickens. I have a "breeding pair" and have watched them do "the dance". I also have received my first egg and am decently confident its fertilized. I do not want to use an incubator due to financial limitations. She is not currently sitting it and this is where I get fuzzy. Due to it being oklahoma and already decently warm whats the sitting "policy" or rule of thumb? How long do I wait until I take it out and it still be edible? Also, how do I know if its a "here I made an egg. Take it away" egg compare to a " whoa I'm gonna make this egg into a baby" egg?? Is there truly a difference?? All I kind find online is basically, just buy a fertilized egg and use an incubator. I would prefer, even is this isn't the time, to let her do it naturally.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Most silkies will lay a clutch worth of eggs before going broody. I would collect eggs daily. Generally if you want to hatch they are better being 10 days old or less. So I personally would collect them and store them for hatching by putting them in an egg carton pointed end down. Prop the carton at a 30 degree angle and alter the ends up daily. Store at 50-70 degrees. If she goes broody you can give her these eggs back to hatch. You can eat the older ones if she continues to lay. Unwashed eggs can be stored unrefrigerated for 3 weeks. Definitely don't wash any eggs you wish to hatch.

I haven't met a silkie that doesn't go repeatedly broody, so hopefully you have a plan to break her if she isn't hatching.

 

[4 ever Orpington]

Hi so a little background. Bear with me. I received 2 silkies for my birthday aftet months of wanting to have a few chickens. I have a "breeding pair" and have watched them do "the dance". I also have received my first egg and am decently confident its fertilized. I do not want to use an incubator due to financial limitations. She is not currently sitting it and this is where I get fuzzy. Due to it being oklahoma and already decently warm whats the sitting "policy" or rule of thumb? How long do I wait until I take it out and it still be edible? Also, how do I know if its a "here I made an egg. Take it away" egg compare to a " whoa I'm gonna make this egg into a baby" egg?? Is there truly a difference?? All I kind find online is basically, just buy a fertilized egg and use an incubator. I would prefer, even is this isn't the time, to let her do it naturally.