Trying to hatch eggs!! Advice needed!

[4 Georgia Hens]

Howdy yal! I recently got a (what I believe to be) a Sebright bantam hen. Her previous owner said that she was very popular/active with his 5 other roosters and has a bare splotch on her back due to them mounting her. So when she laid an egg this morning, I’m guessing/hoping that it is fertile. I immediately made my “broody” coop and set my best brooder (a Wyandotte) on 3 infertile eggs. I recently checked on her, and I do believe that she is becoming broody. Okay so here are my questions:
When should I candle the egg to see if it is indeed fertile?
How long should I wait before giving my hen the egg?
How long can the egg sit on my counter with incubation and still (possibly) hatch?
Any thing else I should know?

 

[nessa.morg]

Howdy yal! I recently got a (what I believe to be) a Sebright bantam hen. Her previous owner said that she was very popular/active with his 5 other roosters and has a bare splotch on her back due to them mounting her. So when she laid an egg this morning, I’m guessing/hoping that it is fertile. I immediately made my “broody” coop and set my best brooder (a Wyandotte) on 3 infertile eggs. I recently checked on her, and I do believe that she is becoming broody. Okay so here are my questions:
When should I candle the egg to see if it is indeed fertile?
How long should I wait before giving my hen the egg?
How long can the egg sit on my counter with incubation and still (possibly) hatch?
Any thing else I should know?

I would candle it day three and day 7 to see if its fertile.
Nothing will grow until you give it to your hen so once your positive she's broody give it to her.
My eggs just hatched yesterday and they sat on the counter for a week and a half before I put them in the incubator.

 

[nessa.morg]

This past time of hatching eggs was my first time so im new.

 

[4 Georgia Hens]

This past time of hatching eggs was my first time so im new.

This is my first time! We will see how it goes!

 

[nessa.morg]

This is my first time! We will see how it goes!

Sending my luck!

 

[4 Georgia Hens]

Sending my luck!

Thank you!

 

[007Sean]

Without incubating, the only other way to see if It's fertile is to break it open.
Fertility will fall off drastically 10 days after laying. I wouldn't set anything after 14 days of storage time, unless extremely rare or expensive eggs were being considered for hatching.
If you have an incubator, you can start incubating the egg, while waiting to see if your hen is going to go broody. You can candle the egg at day 5 and then again at day 10, to see if there's development. If she's gone broody by that time, then you can just slip it under her.

 

[4 Georgia Hens]

Without incubating, the only other way to see if It's fertile is to break it open.
Fertility will fall off drastically 10 days after laying. I wouldn't set anything after 14 days of storage time, unless extremely rare or expensive eggs were being considered for hatching.
If you have an incubator, you can start incubating the egg, while waiting to see if your hen is going to go broody. You can candle the egg at day 5 and then again at day 10, to see if there's development. If she's gone broody by that time, then you can just slip it under her.

I do not have an incubator at this time...
Also, I have been storing the egg pointy side down. Is that correct?

 

[pennyJo1960]

perfect pointy down