Country hens are good mothers: a broody hen sits on her eggs and hatches them in 21 days (TANUVAS). Yet TANUVAS finds that hens hatch only 50–60% of their eggs, mainly because the eggs are not kept cool while they wait for her to sit (TANUVAS). A good breeding flock, clean eggs stored cool and the right number of eggs under each hen hatch more chicks. This chapter also covers candling and small incubators.
The breeding flock
TANUVAS's figures for a country chicken breeding flock (TANUVAS, TANUVAS):
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| Hens per cock | 8–10 |
| Hens: start breeding | When they start to lay, at about 22 weeks to 6 months |
| Cocks: start breeding | At about 8 months |
| Floor space on litter | 2–2.5 sq ft per hen |
- Hens do not accept a cock before about 6 months, so put him with them when they start laying (TANUVAS). TANUVAS keeps breeding hens laying up to 72 weeks of age (TANUVAS).
- The cock: good weight, strong legs, a broad chest and a straight back, with no defects. A cock with weak legs mates poorly, and you get few fertile eggs (TANUVAS).
- The hens: good weight, no sign of disease, eating and drinking well, and active. Remove poor layers and weak birds (TANUVAS).
- Fewer eggs are fertile when there are too many or too few cocks, when birds are fat, when feed is short of energy or protein, in very hot or cold weather, and when hens have lost the feathers on their backs, because they then refuse the cock (TANUVAS).
- Crossbred hens seldom go broody, so country hens are used to hatch their eggs (TANUVAS).
Light for laying hens
- Laying country hens kept in a shed need about 16 hours of light a day: 12 hours of daylight plus about 2 hours of tube light in the morning and 2 in the evening (TANUVAS).
- Do not add light for growing birds; TNAU adds it only from 22 weeks of age, a little each week (TNAU).
- Too much light can lead to prolapse and pecking (UAS Bangalore).
Find country chickens near you on Kattutharai
See country hens, roosters and chicks for sale direct from farmers near your village, with photos, the village name and the distance. No middlemen. Call or chat with the farmer, then see the birds and check them yourself before you pay.
Looking for a particular breed? Search its name in the Kattutharai app, for example Aseel (Peruvidai), Kadaknath or Giriraja.
Collecting hatching eggs
- Give the hens nests (see nest boxes) and collect the eggs 2–3 times a day, soon after they are laid (TANUVAS). A fresh egg is warm and its pores are open, so dirt on it can get inside and spoil the hatch.
- Keep for hatching only clean, sound eggs of normal shape and middle size: cracked, misshapen, thin-shelled, very small and very large eggs hatch poorly (TNAU). Leave out very dirty and broken eggs (TANUVAS).
- Never wash hatching eggs (TANUVAS).
Storing eggs until they are set
- Do not keep hatching eggs in rice or salt: TANUVAS says this village practice lowers hatching (TANUVAS).
- Instead, stand them broad end up in a wide clay pot half-filled with sand, husk or bran, and keep the pot in the coolest corner of the house (TANUVAS). Tie a thin cloth over the mouth and sprinkle cool water on the pot now and then (TANUVAS); in the hot midday hours, cover it with a clean damp cloth (TANUVAS).
- Set the eggs within 7 days in the cool season and within 5 days in the hot season (TANUVAS). After 6–7 days, fewer eggs hatch (TANUVAS).
- TNAU explains that an embryo does not grow below about 24 °C (75 °F) (TNAU).
The broody hen
- Put 10–15 eggs under one broody hen (TANUVAS); TNAU and ICAR-DPR advise 10–12 for a better hatch (TNAU, ICAR-DPR).
- Let her sit in a basket or pot with sand or husk, like the laying nests (TANUVAS), in a quiet place (TNAU).
- Sitting hens carry more lice and fleas than other birds, so check her and the nest, and ask your vet what to use (TANUVAS).
- After the hatch, some farmers keep the hen and her chicks in a coop for about a month, until the chicks' feathers grow (TANUVAS). See Brooding country chicks: heat, feed, first 6 weeks.
21 days, step by step
| Day | What to do |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Set the eggs under the hen or in the incubator |
| Day 7 | Candle the eggs and remove those that show no growth |
| Day 18 | In an incubator, candle again, stop turning and move the eggs to the hatching tray |
| Day 21 | Chicks hatch; take them out of the incubator when nearly all are dry |
Candling
- Put the egg over a hole in a box and shine a light from below (TANUVAS).
- On day 7, a fertile egg shows blood vessels. A clear egg is infertile; a hazy one holds a dead embryo; a dark one is alive (TANUVAS, TNAU).
- Brown country eggs are hard to candle, so look carefully before you throw any egg away (TANUVAS).
- TNAU candles once at 5–7 days and again on day 18 (TNAU).
Small incubators
TANUVAS's settings for country chicken eggs (TANUVAS):
| Days 1–18 | Days 19–21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 99.5 °F | 99.5 °F |
| Humidity (wet-bulb reading) | 85 °F | 90 °F |
| Turning | Once an hour | None |
- TNAU gives 99.5–100.5 °F, about 60% humidity for the first 18 days and 70% for the last 3, eggs broad end up and turned at least 4 times a day by hand (TNAU).
- Switch the incubator on at least 24 hours before you set the eggs (TNAU), and warm stored eggs at room temperature for about 6 hours first (TNAU).
- Check the temperature and humidity often, and keep a generator or inverter for power cuts (TANUVAS). Find small incubators and other equipment in farmers' ads.
If many eggs fail, open them after day 21 to find the cause (TANUVAS):
| What you find | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Bad smell | Germs (infection) |
| Very small embryo, or no down | Too hot early on |
| Chicks soaked in fluid | Humidity too high |
| Dry skin stuck round the chick | Humidity too low, or too hot |
| Yolk outside the chick's belly | Too hot near the end |
Common mistakes
- Storing hatching eggs in rice or salt.
- Leaving eggs in the nest for days until the hen sits.
- Washing hatching eggs, or setting very dirty and cracked ones.
- Too many eggs under one hen.
- Keeping too few cocks, or a cock with weak legs.
Frequently asked questions
How many days does a chicken egg take to hatch?
21 days, under a hen or in an incubator.
How many eggs can I put under one hen?
10–15, says TANUVAS; TNAU and ICAR-DPR advise 10–12 for a better hatch.
How many hens can one cock serve?
8–10 hens, by TANUVAS's figures.
How long can hatching eggs be stored?
Set them within 5 days in the hot season and 7 days in the cool season. Keep them broad end up in a clay pot with sand or husk, in a cool corner — never in rice or salt.
Next
Raise the new chicks with Brooding country chicks: heat, feed, first 6 weeks, and give the breeding flock the right feed with Country chicken feed: evening grain, home mix, water. Keep vaccinations up to date with Country chicken health: vaccination schedule and deworming. Need a new cock or hens? See chickens for sale near you, and read Buying country chicks safely: hatcheries, health and fraud first.