To Hatch or not To Hatch...

[bobbi-j]

This spring, I put 13 pullet eggs in the incubator. The pullets had been laying about a month. Five hatched. Later I put 20 pullet eggs in the incubator. Some had been laying over two months, some less than a month. Twelve hatched. Normally I get better hatch rates than that with pullet eggs but not this time. I had some eggs from older hens in there too both times. Hatch rate with them was better than the pullet eggs both times.

In both cases, all the chicks that hatched lived. That’s normally the case but I do occasionally have one die. When I do, it’s often a chick from a pullet egg. I just don’t think the chicks are quite as strong as chicks from larger eggs. But they will hatch and they will survive. I hatch pullet eggs every year.

Before Aart talks you into something, who’s the Daddy? If that pullet egg happens to be fertile is the right male the potential daddy? Just something else to consider.

Good question. Right now, they're all still running together, so the options would be the Buff Rock or White Giant. I also don't know which pullet is laying. There are several out there with red wattles and combs, but I'm only finding one egg. Same size (small) and color (brown) every time.

 

[bobbi-j]

Update: Unless I have a super-chicken, I apparently have more than one pullet laying. Today when I checked for eggs, I found three identical pullet eggs in the "pullet nest" (a nice little hollowed out spot in the straw, under the nest boxes). Little, brown half-sized eggs. Maybe tomorrow I can lurk about and see who's laying them. This is not a good sign for my older girls, though. They get to keep their heads until they're done and the young'uns are laying well... Except for MBB (Miss Broody Butt) - she gets a pass because I'm hoping she'll brood for me again next year. I'm still periodically throwing her off the nest - it's taking her longer and longer to go back to it. She'll give up eventually. I hope. Otherwise, a broody-buster it will be.