# Fertile egg?



## blulady (8 mo ago)

Do hens know when their eggs are fertile?


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Generally no, chickens, ducks and turkeys will sit on bad eggs. The Eastern Wild turkeys here at the sanctuary will even sit on a rotten egg or two.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Which would explain hens sitting on eggs when there are no roosters.


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## blulady (8 mo ago)

Ok we were just wondering assometimes they set on them like they are fertile then other times they dont LOL


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, there's a cycle to the setting thing. Broodiness is determined by a set of hormones. The hormones turn on, they go broody. Some breeds never go broody so the hormones for broodiness are not present.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

robin416 said:


> OK, there's a cycle to the setting thing. Broodiness is determined by a set of hormones. The hormones turn on, they go broody. Some breeds never go broody so the hormones for broodiness are not present.


...and some seem like they are always broody.


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## blulady (8 mo ago)

We have our new babies in august they ship on the 8th.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Hey wait. You can't come by say we have peeps coming on the 8th and then not say what kind. 

And if you mentioned them on another thread, that doesn't count because I don't remember.


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## blulady (8 mo ago)

5 Cinnamon Queen hens, from Stromberg hatchery


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I had to look them up. No surprise there since I know so little about most hard feathered birds. 

From the sounds of it you won't be surprised by a little roo being in the mix.


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## blulady (8 mo ago)

Hope not we just got rid of four roos


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And that's not an easy thing to do.


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## blulady (8 mo ago)

For sure we lucked out with them they all went to a farm with lots of room for them

The others have sure mellowed out since they are gone, not many scabbles now


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