i think i have 13 fertile chicken eggs, but...

a week ago i put my 6 hens in a pen with a rooster, and now have collected 13 eggs. i borrowed an incubator but in 18 hours i still haven't got the incubator to a steady 99-100 degrees; it's ranging from 104 to 108. i'm almost tired of fighting the incubator (i haven't put the eggs in it yet) and also have recently read that hen-reared chicks out-perform artificially incubated eggs. the temps here (il) are anywhere from 20 F to 40 F this time of year, although it can get much colder some nights, and even some days. is there a certain number of eggs i could place in the hens' nesting box to trigger one to go broody? in fair weather i would just experiment, but i don't want to run the risk of the eggs freezing if no hens took to the nest. ideas, suggestions? my hens are barred rocks, black australorps, and silver laced wyandottes.

I have no idea about incubators, but it is always better to raise chicken with a broody. Who will show your chicks how to scratch properly?

I wouldn't try to incubate chicks in the winter, I'd wait for spring. Longer days, warmer weather, more green things and bugs. I have had lots of hens go broody but never at this time of year.

Anyone do things differently? This is just my way of doing things

It would be a lot of work to deal with eggs and chicks during the cold season as Matu said. If you have a rooster and some hens, you'll have a steady supply of fertile eggs at the more appropriate time of year. Who knows, you may even have a hen go broody and do all the work herself. That's what mine do. SOOOOOOO much easier.

I'm on my 3rd lot of incubated eggs and have a success rate of about 50%. i also have a chicken sitting on 9 eggs in the hen house so can't wait to see what her success rate is?