Quote:
Originally Posted by
Garrisonkidsduo2 
Well I have 18 days left out of 21 I look at her about 4 times a day to make sure she has eaten something and drank something, she really don't like when I clean up her poop area but she deals with it. I can't wait I would like to candle them in a couple more days to see if they are good or not but I am not sure if I should. Any suggestions.
On the first clutch this hen sat on...I tried candling. I tried all kinds of home diy methods and didn't see anything I was suppose to be seeing on different days through the process.....about hard boiled one egg, about burnt a box up, etc....and all the while just irritating the hen like you mentioned cleaning around yours does. There were two of 10 developing in that group all said and done. The roosters were just starting to breed then. I didn't candle the second group of 10 at all. 5 developed in that one...just one didn't get all the shell off. Now that they are with an older rooster now....and chances are better there should be something developing....I'm just going to leave my hens alone and whatever happens, happens. That might not be the thing to do, but I'd probably leave them all anyway in case I was wrong. I seen somewhere it's bad to do it too much also. I'd like to have a small incubator some day....and I'll practice candling on those eggs some maybe....because I would like to get good at it....then maybe check an egg or two under a broody if I felt the need at that time. That's just me personally at the moment. Man, I'm getting excited for these chicks to hatch like it was me doing it....lol.
It's heart warming to hear everybody so excited about chicks coming and being hatched and all that! I can't wait until my first ever hatchery order comes and I bring some chicks home from the feed store again this spring!
Oh, and I got my hens to eat yogurt...had to sprinkle cracked corn on it to get them to try it...now they like it....