Breeding Chickens

Hatching chicks with a broody hen

In a chicken run with a cockerel, the female chicken will lay fertilized eggs. In the spring or summer a hen may go broody and lay a clutch of eggs, between 9 and 15 is normal, before sitting on them for the next 21 days. You should keep a broody hen in a seperate house from the rest of your chickens. During this time she will turn the eggs regularly and move them about to ensure that the eggs are all getting an equal amount of heat. A broody hen will only come off the nest for about half an hour each day, to feed, drink, and take a dust bath

Hatching eggs using an incubator

Even if you don't have a cockerel you can buy fertilized eggs quite cheaply. They can be stored for up to 2 weeks and then be hatched under a broodyhen or by using an incubator. An incubator is an artificial way of hatching eggs, it works by mimicking the action of a broody hen by maintaining a constant temperature and turning the eggs automatically every couple of hours. You should still check the eggs in an incubator regularly. It usually takes slightly longer than 21 days for the eggs to hatch.