# Hen sitting



## eqstrnathlete (Dec 9, 2012)

I have a hen that was sitting on eggs for a few hours. Can I take them and incubate them in a few days, or has the embryo already started developing?


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

eqstrnathlete said:


> I have a hen that was sitting on eggs for a few hours. Can I take them and incubate them in a few days, or has the embryo already started developing?


i would say maybe yes maybe no
what is the temp where your at, day time/night time
where will you store them? in the house?
they may be ok, being sat on for just a few hours 
might not be all that much of a problem 
after all the embryo starts to divide when it's still in the mother hen.
why do you want to wait?
it would get them in as soon as i could
if you have to store them for a few days
you should turn them a couple times a day
even though they are not in the bator yet 
45f to 60f is about the temp. they should be stored at

i'm still learning all there is about chickens myself
but i hope what i have added will help you with your hatch

good luck
piglett


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## BuckeyeChickens (Jul 11, 2012)

eqstrnathlete said:


> I have a hen that was sitting on eggs for a few hours. Can I take them and incubate them in a few days, or has the embryo already started developing?


Not a problem....i've removed a lot of eggs from sitting hens and I've put a lot of eggs under sitting hens too! If you want to move them to a bator this is what i recommend....

1.) make sure your incubator is set up 2-3 days in advance, temp is set to 99.5-100.5F before moving the eggs.

2.) take the eggs from the hen and put them in the bator's auto turner or on the wire if you intend to turn them by hand each day.

3.) note on a calendar the FIRST day the hen began sitting and count up 18 days from this date and mark it as "stop turning"

4.) on day 21 they should be hatching....keep watching them for 48-72 hours after the first chick hatches before removing ALL the chicks to the brooder!

BTW - an egg that has been under a hen for more than 48 hours has started the "developmental" process....if you remove them at or beyond that time frame the must go directly into the bator!


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