Starting a flock with one Rooster and one Hen..........

[CNJ]

Assuming that the Hen lays one egg a day, I was wondering how many eggs should I collect for the incubator if I had only one Rooster and one Hen?

 

[HappyDuckie]

There is quite a bit of information missing. You asked how many eggs you should collect. Well, how many chicks do you want to hatch? It’s best to hatch fresher eggs, so you may not be able to hatch very many at a time with only one hen laying the eggs used to hatch.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Most people don’t find success with pairs, the hen gets overbred. Technically, though, all of the eggs would be fertile.

 

[Northwest_Wannabe]

How many eggs does your incubator hold? how much space do you have for a flock and enough money to feed them all I think the ratio is like 1 Rooster to 6-10 hens?

So assuming unlimited space in the incubator, a straight 50/50 split for genders of the chicks, and you being able to keep all hens and rehome/eat all boys, one could say hatch about 20 eggs. although real life isn't a perfect math question ;D plus having one rooster covering one hen isn't going to be good for the hen... math doesn't usually talk about that...

 

[CNJ]

There is quite a bit of information missing. You asked how many eggs you should collect. Well, how many chicks do you want to hatch? It’s best to hatch fresher eggs, so you may not be able to hatch very many at a time with only one hen laying the eggs used to hatch.

Okay, let me rephrase my question, How long can I hold a fertile egg before putting it in an incubator?
And...............
What is the best amount of eggs for a broody hen to hatch.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

A hen usually can do anywhere from 1 to 15 eggs, depending on egg size and hen size. 7 days is the longest you can wait without turning, turning once a day bumps it up to like 12 days if you been them somewhere around 65°

 

[kelzey]

i think the amount of eggs a broody hen can sit on, depends on the breed and size of her. if you have an incubator, a good option would be to buy hatching eggs- that way you don’t have to wait for your one hen to lay each egg herself

 

[jher77]

I've collected eggs for 7 days and stored them in my closet and had a good hatch rate. I think it depends on how you store the eggs. An egg per day would be at least 7 eggs to incubate.

 

[mcdze]

chickens do better in groups of 3 or more .. their social structure tends to rely on that 'triangle' affect to be the most active and healthy .. if your just getting into it i wouldnt count on a broody, some chickens rarely go broody, but yeah, if your sure theyre mature enough and the rooster is doing his thing, collect eggs for a week and pop them in an incubator even if you got only 4-5 eggs the flock will be ALOT bigger lol ... if you need more yeah buying fertile eggs on ebay or somewhere is an option, get you a couple of dozen lol, it will be chicken town around there in no time ...

 

[CNJ]

Thanks all, I decided to start with 7 eggs. I will store them pointy side down in an egg carton and move them side to side daily.