So you have started down the wonderful path of chicken ownership. You raised a few hens and are ready to increase your flock. You can raise chicks from your own flock and have your hen do all the work. There is no need to invest in an incubator or brooder box. And there is nothing more satisfying to your chicken world than watching a hen hatch a clutch of eggs.
Today, I am going to give you several tips to help your hen do what she instinctively knows: Hatch her eggs. It amazes me that a hen I have either purchased from a hatchery or hatched in the incubator, knows how to set on a nest, hatch the eggs, and take care of the chicks — even though she didn’t start out that way.
Your hen may or may not need help hatching her eggs, but here are some things to consider.
1. Find Fertile Eggs
Before you can get your broody hen to hatch eggs, you will need to identify some fertile eggs. There are two ways to obtain fertile eggs.
Get Fertile Eggs From Your Flock’s Rooster
If you have a rooster, your eggs will be fertile. This may be obvious to most people, but if you are brand new to raising chickens, you may not have thought of it. Mainly because hens will lay eggs whether or not there is a rooster in your flock. If you do not have a rooster, the eggs are unfertilized. Once you have a rooster who services your hens, the eggs will be fertile.
Purchase Fertile Eggs
If you are not allowed to have a rooster where you live, you can still hatch chicks. You simply find someone who has a rooster with their hens and purchase eggs from them. You must wait until you have a broody hen. Replace your unfertilized eggs with the fertile ones, and you’re all set.
If you are not sure where to find fertile eggs you can look on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for someone who sells eggs. You can also go to your local farmers market, find someone who sells eggs, and ask them if they have a rooster.
Related Post:Chicken Hatcheries
If they wash their eggs, ask them to save you unwashed, fresh eggs to purchase. Washed eggs do not have as high a hatch rate as unwashed eggs.
2. Identify A Broody Hen In Your Flock
One important thing to remember is that you can’t really force a hen to set on eggs. A hen will become broody — which means she is inclined or wanting to hatch eggs.
Signs Of A Broody Hen
- 她整天坐在巢箱里。
- When you try to collect the eggs under her, she “growls”, fluffs out her feathers, and pecks at you.
- 她把蛋下在一个隐藏的巢里,而不是在筑巢箱里。
- When you remove her from the nest, she is very vocal and acts strangely. She stays low to the ground, fluffs out, and clucks continually. She usually returns to the nesting boxes quickly.
3. Separate The Broody Hen From The Flock
After you have identified the broody hen, it is important that you separate her from the flock and don’t allow any other hens around her.
The main reason for this is if she is in a nesting box, other hens will continue to lay eggs there. You will end up with too many eggs at all different stages of incubation.
Once you have separated her, put her in a private area. It can even be a box in your garage because the hen stays on the nest almost continually. She will only leave the nest for food and water a couple times a day.
Related Post:Buying Baby Chicks: A First-Timer’s Guide
She doesn’t need much space at all. It is important that it’s a quiet, dry place, free from drafts and predators including family dogs and cats.
Simply give her a small straw nest and place the eggs under her. I like to give her eggs from other hens as well as her own. This will ensure a variety of chicks.
How Many Eggs Should You Let Her Sit On?
This is a somewhat controversial question. I don’t think there is a perfect number. My mother-in-law who is well into her 90s (and has raised chickens her whole life) only lets the hen have a handful of eggs. She says never more than six eggs and usually 3 to 5.
而我,则会挑战极限,给母鸡10到12个鸡蛋。我想,如果她要在那里坐上三个星期,那也是值得的!
Consider the size of the hen. A larger hen can obviously handle more eggs than a bantam hen. I once had a sneaky hen (who I didn’t know had gone to setting) hatch 21 eggs!
Write Down The Date
The incubation time for chicken eggs is 21 days. Write the date she went to setting on the calendar and count ahead 21 days for the hatch date. You may think you will remember, but I highly suggest you write down these dates because life gets busy and you may forget.
4. Leave The Hen Alone
Check on your hen twice a day. Then, just leave the hen alone and don’t handle her. She will probably come off the nest to eat and drink when nobody is around. You will be able to tell because the food will be disturbed.
If the hen removes an egg from her clutch, dispose of it (she can tell it’s a dud). You could double-check bycandling it, but most likely she is right.
5. Prepare For The Big Hatch
Monitor the hen more closely the last few days, but try to resist the urge to constantly disturb her. I lift the hen up once a day to look for chicks. If there are chicks, I remove the shells. Sometimes the hen will eat part of the shell and that is okay. It contains nutrients she needs.
Like any newborn baby, the chicks will sleep a lot and stay under their mother for the first few days. The hen will leave the nest and start taking the chicks to food and water when all the eggs hatch. There may be an unhatched egg or two so remove them and any remaining shells, and provide clean bedding.
6. Support The Mother Hen
The hen will teach her chicks where the food and water are. I scatter a little feed around the brooder. She will scratch and cluck for her chicks, and they will come running. It is fascinating to watch.
Related Post:Raising Baby Chicks: A Guide For First-Time “Parents”
Also make sure the water dish isn’t so deep that a chick could drown. I use a very flat waterer for a couple of weeks.
7. Move Your Chicks
You can move the hen and chicks to a different location, but do not put them with your flock until the chicks are at least one month old — longer is better.
小鸡将继续在母鸡下面睡上几个星期。一旦小鸡长出羽毛,它们可能就不需要妈妈了,但我允许母鸡照顾小鸡,只要她愿意。
Troubleshooting
What if the hen will not set on the eggs?
Perhaps, your hen isn’t broody enough. Sometimes when hens are just becoming broody and you try to move them too soon, they will not be willing to sit on the eggs. If there is no danger of frost, you can leave the eggs in the nest, and let the hen go for a couple of days. I usually try three times before I give up on the hen.
What if the hen leaves the nest before the eggs hatch?
在极少数情况下,母鸡会在21天前离开巢穴,放弃她的一窝蛋。如果她被什么东西吓到了,你可以试着把她放回巢里。如果她还是没有凝固,也许这些蛋是没用的(你可以用蜡烛点燃这些蛋,看看小鸡是否正在形成)。如果你有一个孵化器,你可以在那里完成孵蛋,但母鸡不太可能把小鸡带走。你得把它们放在孵卵箱里养。
如果21天没有一个蛋开始孵化呢?
I usually give the eggs until about 24 days. If any eggs haven’t hatched, I candle them. If there is a chick, I carefully peel an egg open to see if it was a live chick. Most likely the chick will be dead or the egg will be unfertilized. It is disappointing when this happens, but sometimes it does.
What if chicks have hatched and there are still eggs left in the nest?
如果母鸡离开了窝,它们可能是无用的,你可以打开它们看。我做过一次,有个活小妞。However, it was very weak and died shortly after.
I have tried to answer questions for most possible scenarios, but if you have more, please feel free to reach out to me in the comments section below.
我希望这篇新手指南能鼓励你用你的母鸡来建立一个自给自足的鸡群。看母鸡和小鸡在一起既有趣又有教育意义。我鼓励你试一试。
艾米热衷于家庭农业和宅基地建设。She writes at her siteCattle Upon a Hill激励你过最好的农场生活。《山上的牛》提供了关于饲养各种农场动物的教育性文章。2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国她的另一个爱好是在家上学,你可以找到关于在家上学的有用文章。她和丈夫以及五个孩子住在他们的农场里,他们饲养牛肉、奶牛、鸡、鸭、火鸡、鹅、几内亚和驴子。他们还有一头奶牛和一个大花园,以进一步过上自给自足的生活方式。
Wren Everettsays
What a helpful article, Amy! We’ve had our ducks hatch their own clutches, but this spring is going to be the first we try to let our hens do their thing. There’s a lot of similarities between them, it seems, though I didn’t know how to handle a broody once I got one going. Your article gave me exactly the tips I needed–hopefully there will be some fuzzy cheeping things soon enough!
Lisasays
Thank you for all the info, my question is, I have two broody hens in my brooder house. One of the hens will hatch 3 days before the other. will their be a problem with having two hens together in the same house and also eggs hatching 3 days?
Amy Arthursays
As long as there are only 2 hens hatching 2 clutches of eggs, there shouldn’t be a problem. If you have additional hens who are not broody, the hatching hens and chicks should be moved. The non-broody hens will probably pick on the chicks. I hope this helps!
Sallysays
This has been the most helpful of all the articles I’ve read on hens sitting and hatching. This is a first time for hen and myself and I’m so nervous I was given fertile eggs from a friend and today is day 21, so I will wait a few more days if nothing happens. Then try again if she goes broody again.
Thanks so much,
Sally
kimsays
当一只母鸡在未受精的鸡蛋上坐了几个星期,她还会加入她的羊群吗?她要等多久?我们只有母鸡。她还能继续坐在未受精的卵子上吗?这是好事还是好事,或者她会变得不受欢迎,最终被驱逐。I know nothing but I want to prevent un rest within the hen flock
Shirl Nolansays
Thank you Amy, I’ve had hens for a few years and was given a rooster recently. I had no idea on what to expect, you’ve answered the questions I had.
Elisabethsays
Thank you for writing on the subject. I have broody hen she sat on her the fertile duck eggs for 10 days and today she has barely been on the eggs and appears to have lost interest. Could this mean there is something wrong with the fertile chicken eggs? Or has the chicken just lost interest?
Michael Afolarinsays
我的母鸡已经设置在她的蛋大约一个月了,现在没有孵化可能是什么问题?Still setting on it
Michael Afolarinsays
非常感谢这篇文章。我的母鸡已经在她的蛋上坐了大约一个月,现在没有孵化。有什么问题吗?Still setting on it, is there anyway I can help her
Selbasays
Thank you!
I found a secret stash of eggs that one of my hens started brooding over. There is no rooster so i assume they are not fertile. How can i remove them without upsetting her and get her to use a nesting box and accustomed to my collecting?
Thanks!
Malcolmsays
When I was small about 70 years ago I was about 10 or so . We lived in WVa they didn’t have all of those thing u menition . Un could order chicks from sears and robuck . But my father and my grandmother would put the eggs out under a light they would mark one side with a pencil . And turn the eggs every day ! My question is how warm did the eggs have to stay in order to hatch ! Thanks Malcolm
Malcolmsays
If u. Want to have fun ! My uncle had a hen that was setting . So he desided to put some duck eggs under her .Neely they hatched she had a few chicks and 4 ducks . She was out walking he had a Verry small place for the ducks to play in . The hen ducklings. Desided it was time to go for a swim. The next thing the hen was on the bank squeaking and what ever they do but she couldn’t get the little ducks out ! I thought it was funny