Silkie Eggs 2 Days Late.

MageofMist said:

I have a broody Silkie sitting on a clutch of eggs and I am growing increasingly concerned as even with the candle and tap test, I still didn't hear any peeping or see any movement. I heard in cold climates they can take 4-5 extra days to hatch, so I will wait and am glad to have such a dedicated hen who will wait with me, but I would like your thoughts on it and would like some advice regarding on anything I can do to help.

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PD-Riverman said:

What day is she on? Were all the eggs under her set at the same time by you?

I do not live in a cold climate, but have had a number of Silkie's to hatch and they all hatched on time. I would feel for sure that if their nest is up off the ground it would need to be designed different than in warmer places. Is this silkie in a private nest or with other chickens?

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MageofMist said:

She is on her 23rd day on her nest, and she set on the eggs at the same time as I had been monitoring her. She is also in a private nest as we only have two Silkies, her and a rooster, and the rooster hasn't been bothering her while she was on the nest, instead he just lays besides it watching over her. She has been a very good hen, though I needed to step in to give her food and water, and take her off the nest for poop breaks due to her being too dedicated, she never stayed off it long and quickly hopped back on.

I know the eggs are fertile and have chicks in them as I candled them and couldn't see through them other than the air pocket, but saw no movement and I didn't hear any peeps when I did the tap test, but I read some cases where eggs that looked 'dead' hatched around the 25th day.


Here is a bonus pic of me giving her some water in a large rabbit water bottle, the seeds were from when she spilled them out of a bowl in there, but I cleaned what was left of them that wasn't eaten during her toilet break which also doubled as a egg-check.

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PD-Riverman said:

OK, you said a private nest, but then you said there was only 2 others and the rooster. He just lays beside her. OK a Private nest means in a place alone---private---no others can get to her nest. Here is the problem and for sure from my experience with silkies(and others)---if this broody gets off the nest to eat/drink/poop etc and another hen gets in her nest to lay---when the broody comes back--if a hen is on her nest and there is another nest--- she will get in it. She might set there all day/night and the next time she gets off and comes back and gets on the nest with the setting eggs---then the eggs died during the long that long time because they were not being set on. Is this possible or I read your post above wrong?

Second thing is YOU never " Have" to remove a Broody from her nest---she will get off when she gets ready just like they have done for 1000's of years before we started raising them. It is in my Opinion---BAD to remove your broody during what should be the last 3 days of her hatch. She is raising the humidity by staying on the eggs 24/7 and she does Not want to get off. If you are removing her during this time---that can/could hurt her hatch.

Over my many years and hundreds of broodies set I can assure you she Does not need food or water at her nest----doing that might make her lazy and she does not get off the nest as needed to stretch her legs---plus if you have that food and water there the last 3 days without You interfering she will poop in the nest which is not good.

I set over 150 in 3 years(a lot more in the years before) and have Never had one to poop in the nest, never have I removed one, nor have I ever had food and water close enough to her nest that she can reach it. I have had probably a 99% hatch of fertile eggs and all 150+ hatched on time.

She is yours and No one is telling you--- you CAN NOT do this or that---I am just telling you from my experience what I do and what I feel is best and my results from doing it that way.

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MageofMist said:

No, there is only two chickens in the house, a rooster and a hen, and the rooster never bothers her. The hen has refused to budge off the nest ever since she first went broody. When she went broody she sat on the nest for 3 days straight without eating, drinking OR pooping until I stepped in. I had a quail who died from refusing to leave her nest, and also heard of cases where broody hens end up getting blockages for not leaving the nest to poop and dying, and so I got a little paranoid I guess.

I haven't moved her off the nest for the past 4 days to be safe with the eggs, but I grew concerned for the hen and took her off for a break, and she has never pooped in the nest in these 23 days despite me leaving her with food and giving her water, and I take her off it for short breaks every 2 days (So I don't stress her so too much) so she can poop while I check on the eggs. She walks around completely fine during these breaks, stretching her legs and wings, eating and drinking and even having her moments where she jumps while flapping about to get me to move away from said nest. Said breaks are very short as I only wait til she poops before I move to let her back on the nest, and the eggs are still very warm to the touch.

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PD-Riverman said:

Hey she is yours----That's what I like about raising my own---I can raise them any way I want. But I got a curious question----if I may ask----do you watch her 24/7----meaning how are you sure she does not get off the nest at all when or if you are not there 24/7?

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