Breeding and incubation
Fertility, incubation, hatching, the rooster's role: Elsanor's answers, backed by the rates measured on our farm.
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Fertility depends on the age of the breeders, the season, feeding and health. It drops naturally with the age of the rooster and hens, at the end of the season, or with stress or deficiency. Good husbandry and careful selection keep it high.
Broodiness is a natural hormonal behaviour: the hen stops laying, stays on the nest and tries to hatch eggs. Some breeds (like the Silkie) go broody very easily, others almost never.
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A good breeder conforms to its breed standard, is healthy, vigorous and comes from a line with known results. Favour consistency (laying, fertility, temperament) over a single spectacular trait.
A good line is judged over time: standard conformity that stays stable from one generation to the next, good fertility, good hatchability and solid health. The farm's history and results are the best indicators.
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It is a line worked over several generations to fix precise qualities (type, laying, health) by carefully choosing the breeders at each mating. It is the heart of our work as breeder-selectors. Our selection is based on the birds' conformity to their breed standard, and showing birds at exhibitions confirms the work done.
Fertility depends on the breed's genetics, but also on husbandry (age of the breeders, feeding, season, cock-to-hen ratio). All else being equal, some lines pass on better fertility. Physiology also plays a part: the absence of a tail, a long tail, a fluffy tail, a bulky crest... all affect the ease of mating. Some breeds also show a more or less pronounced libido.
Broodiness has been more or less kept depending on the breed: old, hardy breeds often brood well, while breeds heavily selected for laying have largely lost this instinct. It is a genetic aptitude: even if there can be exceptions, some breeds brood more or less well — we give each breed's broodiness ability on our site.
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The Silkie is reputed to be the best brooder and an excellent foster mother; the Pekin, Cochin and Brahma also brood very well. Beware, though: giant, feather-legged breeds are rather clumsy with the eggs and during the chicks' first hours.
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It depends on her size: a bantam broods 5 to 7 eggs, a medium breed 8 to 12, a large breed up to fifteen or so. What matters is that she can cover them all properly. Above all, make sure incubation starts at the same time for every egg, because once the first chick hatches a hen won't stay to wait for the last ones!
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Keep clean eggs of normal size and shape, neither too small nor too large, with an intact shell, from healthy breeders. Discard cracked, dirty or misshapen eggs. It can be risky to add eggs whose age you don't know: a rotten egg that bursts in an incubator spreads a lot of harmful germs onto the others.
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Store them point down, at 12-15 °C and away from humidity, ideally for fewer than 7 days. A slight daily turning improves results. The longer the wait, the more hatchability drops.
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In the hen, incubation lasts about 21 days, whether under a natural brooder or in an incubator. In artificial incubation (incubator), for the very last days the eggs are no longer turned, to let the chicks position themselves, and the humidity is raised to help the chick pierce the shell.
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Possible causes: an unfertilised egg, poor or too-long storage before incubation, unsuitable temperature or humidity, insufficient turning, or a weak embryo. Candling makes it possible to remove clear eggs early.
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By taking care at every stage: healthy, well-fed breeders, fresh and clean eggs, short and correct storage, stable temperature and humidity, regular turning. It is the overall rigour that makes the difference.
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