Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[6peeps]

I have a broody orpington sitting on 14 fertile eggs . It is day 15 do I need to help the chicks get out on day 21 or just let nature take its course? Not sure if I posted in the right spot .Soory

 

[Johnn]

I have a broody orpington sitting on 14 fertile eggs . It is day 15 do I need to help the chicks get out on day 21 or just let nature take its course? Not sure if I posted in the right spot .Soory

They don't usually need help, If they do you can help get them out. There is videos on youtube showing how to do it, They are worth watching if you want to help the chick.

 

[6peeps]

Thanks I will check that out .

 

[gg706]

If you're certain on the timing, I'd candle a few of them. Get a very bright LED flashlight and a dark room. Look and see if you can detect anything moving inside. I can't remember what kind of eggs your girl was hatching. If they are dark or green it will be harder to see, but not impossible.

Thank You I will try. They are brown Wyandotte eggs and my girls have pretty thick, tough shells. I have not had any luck attempting to candle.....I have never seen veins or anything, but I do not know what I am looking at, or maybe too late or too early for the veins. I looked at the candling pictures and none of mine were that clear and easy to see into. Last time I candled the egg was dark inside. So if I do not see movement...they are probably rotten, or dead?

 

[gg706]

Ok I candled 2 of the eggs. One is dark all on one side the other half is the air sack I guess. The second egg did have a bit of a smell to it......It reminded me of the smell my hen had that got egg bound and got really sick...i ended up culling her. It did not have a large airsack, most of the egg was dark, probably three quarters of it with a small airsack on the other end. I did not see any movement in either egg...so chick is asleep or dead? Do you think these eggs are dead, rotten, or not ready to hatch? I am calculating it must be around 28 days. It has been chilly here during the night, but I live in Georgia, so there is not extreme cold or snow on the ground. Any thoughts on what I should do?

 

[gg706]

My broody went out for an outing so I grabbed all of her eggs and candled them all. Here is a pic of one of the eggs 4 of them look like this, one has a smaller air sack. Sorry it is hard to see....about half of the egg is dark and the other half is clear like an air sack? 2 of the eggs were glowing all yellow so I broke them open in the burn barrel and they were not alive. No development at all just yolk. So now I am down to 4 possible viable eggs. What do yall experts think????? Are these 4 any good or should I get rid of them and get my broody back to normal life????

 

[plumtownwingers]

Well its over. Mz. Grey gave up after 10 days on the nest. All eggs ice cold and she was pacing to get out. She is back with her friends now. I will try again with my next broody.

 

[Johnn]

My broody went out for an outing so I grabbed all of her eggs and candled them all. Here is a pic of one of the eggs 4 of them look like this, one has a smaller air sack. Sorry it is hard to see....about half of the egg is dark and the other half is clear like an air sack? 2 of the eggs were glowing all yellow so I broke them open in the burn barrel and they were not alive. No development at all just yolk. So now I am down to 4 possible viable eggs. What do yall experts think????? Are these 4 any good or should I get rid of them and get my broody back to normal life????

If you think she is healthy enough you should get her some new eggs if these aren't going to hatch. But I know nothing about candeling so im not going to say weather I think they will hatch or not.

 

[bobbieschicks]

My broody went out for an outing so I grabbed all of her eggs and candled them all. Here is a pic of one of the eggs 4 of them look like this, one has a smaller air sack. Sorry it is hard to see....about half of the egg is dark and the other half is clear like an air sack? 2 of the eggs were glowing all yellow so I broke them open in the burn barrel and they were not alive. No development at all just yolk. So now I am down to 4 possible viable eggs. What do yall experts think????? Are these 4 any good or should I get rid of them and get my broody back to normal life????

At day 21 or later, and i believe you said it was day 28? is it, I would expect the entire egg to be dark with only a tiny area of air sac. The pics you show look like day 7 quitters. I would remove the eggs, without opening them dispose of them, and move on. Either they got too cold or had other problems around that time. Cold weather is difficult for an experienced broody and even harder on a first timer. If you want to put another set of eggs under her you could put ping pong balls under her until you get the next set of eggs. I'd give her some nutrion like scrambled eggs and make sure she's healthy enough to sit another 21 days.

 

[Johnn]

Still love each other