Chook Me!

How do you hatch your own eggs? With a Incubator, or do the hens just sit on it natuarally?

I have a variety of chicken breed hens and they all lay eggs. But someone told me they are supposed to sit on them and hatch them but they never do? Is there a way to make them do this or do you use an incubator? Also, do you have to collect them within a certain amount of time for the incubator process to work? And anything else you might know about the hatching process, please let me know! Thanks

Public Comments

1. lol that person was not very presice...u need a rooster to fertile the eggs then hopefully the chooks will go clucky (sit on their eggs) then in about 3 weeks time u will have baby chicks...also dont let the babys in with the other chooks for they will attack them....so just bkuild a smaller pen for the babys and their mother...also if u are worried about snakes put the babys and a mother in a box with saw dust and take them up the house overnight then just take them back the next morning...works for me----Good Luck
2. I assume you have a rooster too.... SOME hens are sitters, others are not.. if you have hens that dont sit on the eggs you can either buy a bird of a breed KNOWN for sitting on eggs (such as a SILKIE) or you can get an Incubator.. which is tough because there are all kinds of picky things to watch for...
3. Fertile eggs are needed if you are considering hatching home laid eggs ,hens & a rooster reared together will take care of this aspect,you now have a choice for hatching under a broody hen or an icubator.Presuming you have a brooy hen all you have to do is select a comfortable place to set the eggs & move the hen there,hens prefer the place where they have laid their eggs,but can be persuaded to sit in reasonable comfort.in a safe spot. Around 21 days & you will have chicks,the hen needs to be let out from her nesting area for food & drink ,about 20 minutes each day,after which she will return to her eggs.Broody hens will move the eggs around for even exposure to heat.This method of hatching calls for no additional expeciture but care & watchfulness. An incubator is a different prospect all together,you will need to know how to operate this instrument ,needless to say cost must be taken into consideration,duration of incubation is the same either way.
4. Dear Kay M. There are a few things to consider when you are thinking about your hens going broody. Some of these are breed, age of the bird, and time of year. Depending on your breeds of birds they may or may not become broody. Why? Because some bird breeds were breed so much for egg production or for a look that they loose their ability to become mothers. Some of these breeds include, Leghorns, Polish, Ancona, Sicilian Buttercups, Campines and other breeds. Very rarely does one of these birds sit on a nest for full tern and take care of their chicks. Most likely since you got a varitey of breeds you will have a few that do go broody. I If you want to find out if they will go broody then I suggest http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html This website will also help you determine the breed of your birds if you don’t know what they are. It contains over sixty different breeds and tells you the birds, skin color, egg color and ability, their feather colors, comb type, personality, and many other things. If you find that none of your birds will hatch eggs then you can see which breeds will. Another thing to take into consideration is how old your birds are. I have noticed that for the most part hens don’t try to hatch chicks on their first year. I did have four hens from very broody hens brood on their first year last summer though. But, most of my other hens like to wait until they are older around 2-3 till they attempt to start their family. I have also noticed that certain types of hens like to hatch their eggs at certain seasons. Last year I had one mixed hen hatch out early spring. Two Modern Game hens hatch out mid summer. And a Wyandotte Bantam an Old English Game hen and my early spring time mixed hen hatch out mid fall. So certain birds go broody at different times. Due to the above paragraph I take seasons into consideration but there is one more thing about seasons. I also wanted to make a point to say that chickens usually don’t try to hatch out their eggs in the winter because it is to cold for chicks. And my suggestion is if they try don’t let them. My late fall hatching hens lost most of their baby’s from the cold weather and now I have six chicks in the house that are sick. If you wish for your birds to go broody here are some ways to help. Make sure that the nesting area is dark and full of straw and away from the other chickens. Many hens will not broody until they have a clutch of eggs around 4-10. So if you are taking their eggs daily they will continue laying to create their clutch but will never sit because there aren’t enough eggs. If your hen does brood make sure that the nest isn’t available to the other hens because they will lay eggs in the nest with her and then there will be to many eggs under her causing the hatch to fail. When a hen goes broody she will be very cranky towards the other birds when she comes out to eat and go to the bathroom. Her poop will come out in a large glob and will smell worse then normal. I usually give the hen her own cage with food and water in it. Then whenever she gets hungry or has to go to the bathroom she doesn’t have to go very far from her nest. If your hens don’t wish to hatch chicks you could get Silkies and Cochins like people bellow suggested. But, I personally like to get birds like the Black Austrop, and Rock that lay well throughout the year and go broody every once in awhile. They will keep your flock alive and add to the number. But a Cochin or a Silkie will create a hatchery in your backyard, which isn’t always efficient. Both breeds are slow to mature and don’t handle foul weather. They are also poor egg producers. Cochins also have dense feathers that make fertilization difficult. Both of these breeds also cannot fly. If these things are okay with you then they do make great pets. If you want to use an incubator that is fine. You can purchase one or make it yourself. Incubators should be offered at your local feed and supply shop. If not most hacheries sell them. If you wish to make one check out http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/eggs/res20-incubator.html http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/poultry_make_incubator.html http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/1982-03-01/Build-Your-Own-Incubator.aspx If you do wish to hatch out chicks here is a site that will tell you everything you need to know http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/8.html If you do chose to incubate your eggs use ones that Are fertile Less then eleven days old(old egg cause less chicks to hatch and have a higher chase of having chicks with illnesses) Not strangly shaped or sized(Overly large or puny eggs have less of a chance of hatching and if they do could create something unhealthy) Not washed (Washed eggs cause the outer layer of the shell to be removed and allows bacterium to enter) Not kept in a place under 40 degrees(This cold and the membrane of the egg dies) Not kept in a place 90 degrees and up (This high and the chick has already started to develop and is most likely dead. Keep in mind that with an incubator you have to turn the eggs three times a day(except after day 18) make sure that the humidity is constant and so forth. Another option that you may enjoy is purchasing chicks from a hatchery. I got the 25 brown egg layer package last year and I am very pleased with my hens. All about the rooster- You do need a rooster for eggs to hatch. The suggest number is one rooster per 6-8 hens (This is for standard sized roosters and hens) and one rooster for 10-15 hens (This is for bantam sized roosters and hens). Make sure that this rooster is very healthy and of good quality before you breed his with your hens. Breeding a sick rooster has disastrous results. Hope this helps, if you have any other questions feel free to contact me via email.