Will My Incubated Chicks Brood When They Are Adults?

[peach2727]

Hi,

I am in Ecuador raising free range chickens after moving from Massachusetts 10 months ago. Bear with me please as I am a complete amateur.

I am being told here that if I buy 2 day old chicks in the stores, they will never brood as the chicks all come from incubators. People are telling me incubated chicks will NEVER brood. True of false? So, if I buy an incubator here to increase my flock, will these chicks hatched from the incubator never brood also?

Also, is there any way to tell which eggs to put in the incubator as to make sure I do not place unfertilized eggs in it?

What would be the average success rate out of 90 eggs in an incubator?

Thanks for all the help and sorry if these are dumb questions.

 

[Bock_Bock]

thatis false all female chickens have it naturally in them to brood some just more then others, there is no different from incubated eggs to to hen hatched eggs

and about the fertile egg question the only way to tell is to break open 1 and see if it has a bullseye looking thing on the yoak if it does the the eggs are fertile if not then they are not, i would suggest just setting all the eggs and and cadling after at least a week and then discard all the non developing eggs, and as for the % it is all up to your roosters if they are getting their job done, then it is up to you if you incubate the eggs right as in temp, turning and humidity wise

 

[peach2727]

How do I know if it is a non developing egg in the incubator?

Any idea how many roosters I need for 200 hens?

Thanks

 

[hollyandty]

I don't think you can tell if an egg is fertile before it begins to incubate. Candle the eggs after about a week in the incubator and you can see the blood vessels. Check other posts for really good pics of this. Take a look at this site http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/day07/ for some good candeling pics. As to the percentage of hatch question.....one never knows. It depends on things like rooster to hen ratio, fertility temps and humidity in the incubator et al. Good luck.

 

[hollyandty]

How do I know if it is a non developing egg in the incubator?

Any idea how many roosters I need for 200 hens?

Thanks[

You have to candle them.
The rule of thumb is at least one rooster per 10-14 hens​

 

[zaylinda]

What part of Ecuador? I used to live near Napo as a child!

Weather or not a hen will set is really dependent on her breed, not if she was incubator hatched. Most of the commercial laying breeds have had the broody instinct bred out to increase egg production.
My advice, if you want to hatch your own eggs on a modest scale, is what my mother did when we lived in Ecuador:
Find a local who raises their own chickens,
Ask to buy one of their best broody hens
Bring her home
Let her do her thing
Ours was a feisty little black game hen named 'mama hen' who set on and defended countless batches of eggs - she lived to be so old she went through menopause, stopped laying, and started crowing like a rooster. We loved her so much we didn't get rid of her even then.
I hope this helps!
-Zay

 

[Bock_Bock]

Quote:

 

[peach2727]

We are in Santa Rosa, on a mountain above Ibarra.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Bock_Bock]

yw anymore questions just let me know i will help you out

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
QUE LINDO!

How do you get so lucky!!!??????

I would LOVE to live there.

Got a guest room?

I lived for 6 months in Quito, 3 months in Libertad out on the peninsula and then just over a year in Guayaquil... Los Ceibos, La Atarazana, La Chala, Garay, Duran, ...

Is it just you and your spouse? Kids? Retired? Living off the land?

I've only been back once and while visiting Otavalo I wished I could buy a piece of land to live off of somewhere near Llagua Cocha or near a stream in Chimborazo or Carchi.

Ah, you are living the dream!!!.