Are the Broody Hen's Eggs going to hatch?

[Tennessee Great Granny]

I am looking for some guidance, this is my first time hatching anything & I'm thinking most of these eggs are not viable...

The story:
My little, free range Spitzhauben Pullet, Teacup, went missing when we had that bitterly cold weather around January 15, 2024. Fast forward 2 weeks & I found her eating with the flock on January 30. I followed her back to her nest & found she had been sitting on 5 eggs (all are her eggs) laid directly on sheet metal surrounded by a little bit of pink fiberglass insulation. The "nest" was thankfully out of the wind. That night I moved her & the eggs into her own broody hen house with enclosure (little orange chicken coop from Tractor Supply) & she's been locked onto that clutch ever since. This is her first time going broody.

I look in everyday when she leaves & I hear no peeping, see no pips. They are always warm. No smells at all.

Counting backwards, I think yesterday should have been day 21 but that's a guess.

Maybe it was a mistake to do so, but today, I waited until Teacup got off the nest & candled them as fast as possible right there under my coat... 4 eggs look solid/dark - cannot see an air chamber.

However, one is nearly all air chamber but did NOT see movement in the dark part. I found this video that best shows what that single egg looks like:



Thank you to Kiki for that very helpful video!

Take into account that this is my first time candling & I was trying to be fast as Teacup was coming back. I just spent 5 to 10 seconds looking at that egg. I actually thought it was empty/not viable because there was so much air space. Now I wish I had taken more time to look at it...sigh.

In addition to all of this, I am considering driving to Cackle Hatchery on Thursday & buying a few day old chicks to put under her. Honestly, I thought she had frozen to death during her absence - I know the temperature was -2F/-19C one morning. It would be nice to see her "rewarded" with some chicks for her dedication to that clutch during the very worst weather possible.


The Questions:
Should I give the eggs a few more days under Teacup?

Is it a mistake to put a few day old chicks under her this Thursday night if she still sitting on a possibly viable egg which would be day 24 (estimate) of that single egg?

Thanks for any help. I really appriciate this forum....I reference it so, so much, lol

Some hens are great at keeping their eggs warm and healthy and some are not. But that doesn't mean they can't all be great mothers. I usually start a few eggs in a small incubator at around the time a broody mom starts sitting. And when hatch day comes near -I move her and "her eggs" to a nursery area to finish out. My son takes the hen and I make sure shee sees the eggs going into the bucket. There's only one brief moment she can't see the bucket with her eggs! That's during the switch of identical buckets. One chicken wound up with 18 babies because she was a pro at hatching and I wans't going to raise the extra six myself. One super great mom was awful at it. I gave her newly hatched babies and hatching babies and brought her eggs in for candling.Hers were dead twice in a row. But she just loved being a mom. If they don't get babies after being unsuccessful they can become depressed and even angry and take their anger out on everyone- especially the roosters- it must be their fault! The bad at sitting mom (Little Shy One) was eventually killed by a raccoon as she defended her babies to her death. All six of her last girls are alive and they wound up being raised by a rooster from a previous hatching. Her older daughters tried to mother them but their brother chased everyone away from the little girl orphans. The older girls did post themselves at the nursery fence and did make them go back under the fence into the nursery every time they tried to escape. They are going to be great moms too! Now we have discovered escape routes we are revamping the nursery runs for smart-aleck babies on the run. Chick time is upon us and one of Little Shy Ones older girls is broody, and I'm getting ready.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

Hello Chicken Canoe,

I noticed she went missing either on Jan 15 or Jan 16. That puts the estimated hatch date at yesterday or today.

Thanks for the feedback on the hands off approach. Teacup is flighty & I don't want to upset her unnecessarily. Moving her & her eggs into the brooding apartment was, uh... dramatic.

So "dark eggs" are good around the 21 day mark? The air cell was pretty small, maybe like a "Day 7 egg" would look (according to air chamber charts I've referenced on Backyard Chickens). Also, I didn't see veining but that could be my inexperience.

Truth be told, I was not clear on what I was looking at & didn't have the luxury of time. That hen only spends 2 or 3 minutes off the nest! Candling sounded better in my head when I decided to try. I thought I would see some clear & obvious sign of a chick or not. That didn't happen.

I'm giving her the week with the eggs. If they haven't hatched, I'll take them & properly candle them. If there are viable chicks I'll put them back with her.

As an aside, are you going to be selling Penedesenca eggs this year? I really like the more active breeds & Pennies are on my radar. LOL, I must inspire such trust now that I've illustrated out how crappy I am at taking care of a clutch. I will get up to speed I promise!

How do you find they tolerate the cold? I hope your chickens didn't get too beat up with frostbite. My Jungle Fowl roosters had their combs strongly affected...actually all my breeds except for the Spitzhauben were bitten. I'm sure my ventilation is good but the cold was so intense they all got hit. Now I've got to sort out how to avoid that in the future...so much to learn!

Thanks for your input, I'm grateful for your help & concern.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

I sat on a bench this morning & waited for Teacup to leave her broody coop. I saw her walk down the coop ramp & out to her water on the ground. I walked up to the coop & opened the nesting box & she must have "quantum leaped" because when I looked inside she was already getting back on her nest.

I only saw one egg as the others had been shifted from their original position as well as her body was covering the view. I may have heard some weak cheep sounds but the African geese were screaming at that exact moment so it was probably my imagination.

I'll not go to Cackle today for day old chicks. If this hatch doesn't work out by next week I will go to Cackle then.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

Thank you so much Chicken Canoe & Jessejeanne for the good information. Your help means a lot to me! I'm just watching the situation & waiting at the moment.

No pips or bad smells as of this morning. Teacup is still getting off the nest for a very brief time & then straight back on.

I KNOW at this point the eggs have gone past 21 days of incubation so it will be interesting to see how many days it goes past 21 IF chicks are hatched. Fascinating stuff!

Thanks again everyone.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If eggs are chilled the first week of incubation, they will still hatch and will be delayed but not delayed for the entire length of time they were chilled.
Chilling the last couple weeks will usually doom them.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

If eggs are chilled the first week of incubation, they will still hatch and will be delayed but not delayed for the entire length of time they were chilled.
Chilling the last couple weeks will usually doom them.

That is very good to know...I haven't come across that information before. Maybe I'll see some chicks after all.

I'll keep this thread updated as the situation progresses in hopes of helping others facing a similar situation.