Where to buy fertizied eggs

[Finny303]

Hi there,
We have 6 hens (had 8 but gave 2 bullies away). One hen is brooding and she has been sitting on eggs for over 4 weeks. We "borrowed" 2 eggs from a friend with a rooster hoping it would hatch but no such luck after 3 weeks. I would like to get a fertiized egg but how would I go about this? Purchase one online? Thanks ahead

 

[MeepBeep]

If you don't care about a specific breed just browse Craigslist for people selling eggs and inquire if they are fertile... Once you find someone selling fertile eggs just ask them to simply not refrigerate a dozen for you to hatch...

Online purchases are another option but hatchability is always hit and miss on shipped eggs...

 

[lazy gardener]

Do you have room for a broody and chick(s) in your current set up? Any crowding will lead to aggression. Especially where a chick is involved. If you are going to give her an egg, best to give her a small clutch of eggs, but only if you can manage extra birds in your flock. And... what will you do with the roosters? An other consideration is: she's already been sitting for 4 weeks. This is very taxing on a hen's body. 3 more weeks could weaken her even more. You could also work on breaking her broodiness.

 

[donrae]

I would not try setting more eggs at this point. If she's been brooding 4 weeks, another 3 is pretty unlikely. She'll probably give up half way through. Even if she sets, it's going to take too much out of her IMO. Instead of eggs, I'd be looking for day old chicks to graft to her. Lots of feed stores are getting a fall shipment of pullets about now.

 

[Finny303]

Thanks for all the replies! Two eggs hatched yesterday! Mother Hen is doing well with them. So this is my first time with this. The coop is two stories and the hens have to go down to get out of coop to get to run. I **** that down because I don't want chicks to fall out but now Mother Hen cannot get out and I don't like that. I like the birds to have access to light and sun and grass. How do I manage this? Also we separated the other birds but when should we put them back in with chicks?

 

[donrae]

Is your run predator proof? My momma birds usually just brood their babies on the ground in the run, or the bottom of the coop (but I have a walk-in coop).

 

[Finny303]

We have a walk up coop too. I opened the back door and another hen got in and tried to peck the baby chick to death!!! It was awful and an all out hen fight. I grabbed the other chicken and took her out. Now I need to separate them perm. When the coop is closed it is predator proof for sure but we left the other chickens in the run last night to separate them from the babies and one chicken got eaten by a predator.

. We could put Mother Hen and baby chicks in our basement for now

 

[lazy gardener]

You'll have to come up with something. I imagine the coop is an oven if it's shut up during the day. Do you have a friend who has a large dog crate? Even then, you'll need to put hardware cloth over it, b/c any predator could reach in and grab the chicken tenders inside. Chicks can also squeeze out through the wires. If you're handy with wood, you could buy some 2 x 2's and 1/2" hardware cloth, and knock together a little tractor in a day or so. In the mean time, your basement, or a garage may need to be used for mama and babies. I have a little 3 x 6 tractor, and that thing has paid for it'self many times over to protect chicks.

 

[Finny303]

Sounds like a plan. My husband is super handy so he will be able to do this. Thanks so much