Broody Hen Thread!

[foreverlearning]

Yes they can!

Don't they carry them in their wings? I know they can do that with the chicks. I've not had one of my hens do the carry thing...they just roll from one nest to the next.

Determined girl!
Lady of McCamley

I had a pullet broody that was so determined to have eggs that she would carry them to her box. She would get in one of the other boxes, lay down and scoot an egg up to her chest, then tuck her beak into her chest (around the egg), and stand up and go put it in her nest. I caught her many times the first two days before she finally set them.

 

[fisherlady]

Yes they can!

Don't they carry them in their wings? I know they can do that with the chicks. I've not had one of my hens do the carry thing...they just roll from one nest to the next.

Determined girl!
Lady of McCamley

I watched Gracie (our silkie mix) pick up one under her chin and hold it while she moved nest to nest and another time I saw her settle over an egg, use her beak to tuck the egg high under her wing, then get up with the egg firmly tucked and move it to the other nest. I wish I'd had a camera the day she held that egg between her chin and chest... what a sight! I have watched other hens either drag or push eggs from one nest to the other. They sure are cute about it!

 

[zinkie]

Wow, aren't they amazing!

 

[mrstodd]

She is in a good brood!
Good luck to Fluffy and you on her hatch. Have fun watching her.

If you need candling help, be sure to post questions.
Lady of McCamley

Thank you Lady of McCamley!

There are 4 light Brahmas, 4 Buff Brahmas and 4 Dark Brahmas. I have no idea how or when to start candling! If you have a basic run-down that would be great, I can take pictures and post them, and I will know whether they are viable or not!. They were laid in the morning and under her by the afternoon,

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you Lady of McCamley!

There are 4 light Brahmas, 4 Buff Brahmas and 4 Dark Brahmas. I have no idea how or when to start candling! If you have a basic run-down that would be great, I can take pictures and post them, and I will know whether they are viable or not!. They were laid in the morning and under her by the afternoon,

Brahma eggs are lighter colored (tint to light brown), so that's half the battle (trying to candle dark Marans or Welsummer eggs is almost impossible, at least for me...just tried that with my Marans).

You've got very fresh eggs, and they were set quickly (perfect for hatching).

It is recommended to candle at 5 days and 10 days. It's not essential you do it on those days, you can do it anytime (except the last 2 days as that's lock down). You won't see much beyond 12 days as the chick has filled the egg up so all you'll see at that point is dark blob and white air cell. You want to see dark solid blob...not shadowy grey that rolls around as you move the egg....and clear air cell space for viable eggs.

I generally do my first check anywhere from 3 days to 5 days to see if the eggs are fertile. If I don't see any signs of growth at first, I wait a few more days and recheck. If you don't see growth by 10 days, toss that egg (I wait longer than most "just in case"). Tossing infertile or "quitters" is important, especially in warmer weather, as bad eggs can explode disgusting gook all over the growing eggs. Most hens clean it up, but I like to save mom the mess (and me the smell until she does clean up). Some panic and try to take everything apart and sanitize it all, washing the balance of the eggs if a bad egg explodes, but I have had eggs go bad with nearly every hatch and still have very good hatches with the rest with just some quick tidy, replacement of bedding, and momma doing her job. I find the soft alfalfa/timothy hay (from pet store bedding) over deep pine shavings is especially effective for providing a nice nest that is easy to tidy if something goes amiss.

I am really, really low tech in my candling. I have a very bright LED flashlight from the Dollar Store (don't laugh, it works great) and go out at night, stand by the nest box, cup an egg in my hand with a "C" shape so that I can hold the egg but shine the light up through it from the bottom. I will also gently roll the egg so I can shine through all sides to be sure to get the best idea of what is happening.

I have brown egg layers, and low tech, so I usually see just a dark dot and zippy veins on the first week. After the 2nd week, I just see a growing dark blob and white air cell. That dark blob gets bigger and the air cell gets smaller and centers into one end (forget which at the moment) as the hatch progresses. After 15 days, I can hardly see much than big dark blob. (YIPPEE).

Here's a great candling chart...it was done with very bright high quality lighting and inside conditions, so you won't see what is in the photos (unless you go hi-tech too).

Have fun!
Lady of McCamley

Awesome candling chart from a fellow BYC'er:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation


This is more of what I see with photos of a non-fertile (grey yolk shadow only) and then a "quitter" that started but failed to develop (blood ring) and then what you hope to see those first few days...although I usually see the "zippy" veins too when I candle.
http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/embryology/candling.shtml

Another site that shows what is good and bad:
http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html

 

[Chicken-Man]

Quote:

 

[mrstodd]

Brahma eggs are lighter colored (tint to light brown), so that's half the battle (trying to candle dark Marans or Welsummer eggs is almost impossible, at least for me...just tried that with my Marans).

You've got very fresh eggs, and they were set quickly (perfect for hatching).

It is recommended to candle at 5 days and 10 days. It's not essential you do it on those days, you can do it anytime (except the last 2 days as that's lock down). You won't see much beyond 12 days as the chick has filled the egg up so all you'll see at that point is dark blob and white air cell. You want to see dark solid blob...not shadowy grey that rolls around as you move the egg....and clear air cell space for viable eggs.

I generally do my first check anywhere from 3 days to 5 days to see if the eggs are fertile. If I don't see any signs of growth at first, I wait a few more days and recheck. If you don't see growth by 10 days, toss that egg (I wait longer than most "just in case"). Tossing infertile or "quitters" is important, especially in warmer weather, as bad eggs can explode disgusting gook all over the growing eggs. Most hens clean it up, but I like to save mom the mess (and me the smell until she does clean up). Some panic and try to take everything apart and sanitize it all, washing the balance of the eggs if a bad egg explodes, but I have had eggs go bad with nearly every hatch and still have very good hatches with the rest with just some quick tidy, replacement of bedding, and momma doing her job. I find the soft alfalfa/timothy hay (from pet store bedding) over deep pine shavings is especially effective for providing a nice nest that is easy to tidy if something goes amiss.

I am really, really low tech in my candling. I have a very bright LED flashlight from the Dollar Store (don't laugh, it works great) and go out at night, stand by the nest box, cup an egg in my hand with a "C" shape so that I can hold the egg but shine the light up through it from the bottom. I will also gently roll the egg so I can shine through all sides to be sure to get the best idea of what is happening.

I have brown egg layers, and low tech, so I usually see just a dark dot and zippy veins on the first week. After the 2nd week, I just see a growing dark blob and white air cell. That dark blob gets bigger and the air cell gets smaller and centers into one end (forget which at the moment) as the hatch progresses. After 15 days, I can hardly see much than big dark blob. (YIPPEE).

Here's a great candling chart...it was done with very bright high quality lighting and inside conditions, so you won't see what is in the photos (unless you go hi-tech too).

Have fun!
Lady of McCamley

Awesome candling chart from a fellow BYC'er:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation


This is more of what I see with photos of a non-fertile (grey yolk shadow only) and then a "quitter" that started but failed to develop (blood ring) and then what you hope to see those first few days...although I usually see the "zippy" veins too when I candle.
http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/embryology/candling.shtml

Another site that shows what is good and bad:
http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html

WOW! What a wealth of information! I very much appreciate you taking the time to write that up for me and gather the links together! I have printed your info and the info from the links! awesome!! I am going to wait two more days and candle on day 5. I am going to post pictures so I can get feedback on viability as I am brand new! I don't know if it is ok to post them in this thread though.. lol Thank you again Lady of McCamley! Oh I wanted to ask. I have written on the eggs in pencil but I imagine that wont last long. Is it safe to use a black sharpie??

 

[mrstodd]

Thank you chicken-Man!! everyone has been so kind and helpful here!

 

[silkie7777]

I am new here and that is SO helpful!

 

[fisherlady]

WOW! What a wealth of information! I very much appreciate you taking the time to write that up for me and gather the links together! I have printed your info and the info from the links! awesome!! I am going to wait two more days and candle on day 5. I am going to post pictures so I can get feedback on viability as I am brand new! I don't know if it is ok to post them in this thread though.. lol Thank you again Lady of McCamley! Oh I wanted to ask. I have written on the eggs in pencil but I imagine that wont last long. Is it safe to use a black sharpie??

We use a sharpie and have never had a problem. If your hen is in where other hens may lay eggs which end up in her nest you will want to either put a mark on 2 sides of them or just draw a plain line around the center of the egg so no matter how it is positioned in the nest it will be seen. Then you can quickly tell which eggs are imposters without even having to handle the eggs.