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Birds--General/fertile chicken?

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Expert: Abi - 3/1/2009


Question
If a rooster is successful in mating with a hen, when will she start sitting on the fertile egg.  I have 12 laying hens.  I get up to 12 eggs on some days. I would like to have at least one batch of babies.  How do I know which hen will make my wish come true?

Answer
Hello Germaine,

A hen won't sit on an egg just because she has been covered. The hen which will sit on your eggs will start to go 'broody' in warmer weather. She will try to sit on any eggs which are there, and this is the chicken that will hatch out the eggs for you. You can put any eggs underneath her :)

Thanks for your question.

Birds--General

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Abi

Expertise

I CAN'T ANSWER QUESTIONS ON ANIMALS OTHER THAN CHICKENS/DUCKS/GEESE- I WILL TRY BUT THEY ARE NOT MY SPECIALIST SUBJECT- PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME QUESTIONS ABOUT BUDGIES, FINCHES, PARROTS, COCKATIELS OR OTHER 'EXOTIC' BIRDS. I can answer questions on pretty much all CHICKEN breeds, including fancy and bantam birds. I can give advice on how to get the best egg production, brightest yolk colours and darkest egg shell colours, breeding (using broody hens, not incubators), bird problems/illnesses. I can give advice on all aspects of basic chicken care but I breed chickens for my own pleasure only, I do not often show or sell my birds.

Experience

I own and breed a wide range of chickens, but I speciallise in cochins and crevecour bantams; crevecours have a large crest (an afro!) so I can answer questions on problems concerning them; cochins have feathered legs, which leads to no end of problems which I have experienced! I also own a large flock of domestic, rescued 'battery' hens, and a single maran hen, Hilda, who is the matriarch of her flock, so I can give advice on how to get the best colour of maran eggs!

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