I was looking at pictures of marans today. Aren't these gorgeous?
http://www.poultrymill.com/OnlineStore/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=6
Maran Chickens
They are gorgeous! I have a new batch of cuckoo marans but they're nothing like that! Wow!
It looks like they are in Britain. How long can eggs sit before they go into an incubator or under a hen and still be viable?
They will be viable for up to ten days. Thats just a rule of thumb so sometimes an egg 12-13 days old will still hatch. If you buy shipped hatching eggs you should let them sit at house temp for at least 12 hours before incubation. Shipped eggs usually have a thirty-thirty five% hatch rate. If you get a better hatch rate than that you should be very happy. Haystack
Thanks Haystack, I didn't know that. I was just outside panicking about all these silkie eggs. So according to that, I should only have 10 to 12 eggs that will hatch. I guess we'll see. My little hens are being so faithful sitting there all day.