When a hen is sitting.....

[Sylviaanne]

We have a bunch of eggs under our bedroom window and when I went to look there was a hen on them. Apparently, several of our hens are laying in the same spot. I had picked up 2 eggs that I knew were just laid and put them under the hen that was sitting on the nest, she pecked at my hand so I thought she was broody. I went to put feed down and a little bit later this sitting hen came screaming over to the food. I went to see if there was anything bothering the eggs, there wasn't but she didn't go back to sitting on the eggs that night.

My question is: How long after a hen starts sitting do the eggs start.......? Forming? Maturing? I don't know what it would be called. I know from watching YouTube about incubators that when you put the eggs in, it takes 3 - 4 hours for the temperature to come up to normal.

As soon as I get a temperature/humidity gauge, I am going to transfer those eggs into my incubator. I'm trying to get my husband to go get the gauge tonight. Sylvia

 

[Sylviaanne]

I didn't get an answer to this but I did bring them in and put them in the incubator and now I don't remember how many eggs I had, I am terrible at keeping records, a work in progress. I had 24 babies hatch they are now 10 weeks old. I think I might have added some extra cause I only wrote down that I had 20 eggs. This thread was started on 4/18 and the eggs started hatching on 5/9. Twenty one days on the dot. I must have caught her just before she actually went broody.

I didn't remember this post or the date, lousy record keeping, I thought they hatched at 2 weeks in the incubator. Boy, that was a fast 3 weeks and I have had several hatches since then, now I have Silkie eggs in there and this is the slowest 3 weeks, they have only been in there 9 days. LOL

 

[b.hromada]

Congrats on the hatch!

You did good! You must have just caught her on time. Enjoy your chickens!

 

[Sylviaanne]

Thanks. LOL I ended up with about 30 out of 32 hatching from that incubator full.