Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Hooee on February 25, 2010, 17:40
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can you still eat the eggs if you have a cockerel,also the article iI have read says collect the eggs to be hatched and store them in a cool dry place until you have enough for her to sit on. surley once they are cold there no longer going to hatch. confused, don't mean to be dence just a learner. ;)
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hi there, yes you can still eat the eggs :)also its right about collecting eggs ,i presume you mean to go under a broody hen? im told 7 or so for a large bird the fresher the better incubation starts once they are sat on and warm :) :)im no expert but i hope this helps :) :)
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thanks lisa, do you know how many days/hours your eggs can stay cold before you put the hen on to sit, I've only got four girls and it would take me a couple of days to get the amount i need, do you see what I mean ? it's a bit hard to explain!! :wub:
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i wouldn't set eggs that were more than 4 to 5 days old, the older the egg the less likely it is to hatch, having said that i found a cobb hen on a clutch of 12, so the first egg must have been 12 days old, only 8 hatched as the rest were duds.
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i agree tmg :) im pretty new to this currently have my cukoo maran on 6 blue laced wyndotte eggs .the eggs will be cold pretty soon after laying i think .we only moved our broody girl because she kept sitting in the favorite nest box and keeping the eggs warm which we didnt want so have put her in a little brooder with some proper fertile eggs(we have no cockerel)are you asking because your planning to try and hatch some hooee?? :)
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I'm funny about giving fertilised eggs to other people, however will eat them myself. Duno why cos theres nothing wrong with them!
I have successfully hatched eggs at a week old. Think, if you buy eggs from ebay or at an auction they will always be upto a week old.
Steve
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its not so much that the eggs are fertile that bothers me just the fact that masala has been half baking them :)just dont like the idea of them being warmed up :)
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You can keep eggs to incubate upto 3 weeks, as long as you turn them at least 3 times a day, they have much more chance of being fertile the less time you keep them though, I prefer to incubate them at less than 1 week old.
Fertile eggs apparently are more healthy, (just as long as they are fresh).
Michelle