This egg was smashed against a counters egde by my 2 yr old son while we were candling some eggs that our broody Marans was setting on. I was just horrified! it was day 16 for goodness sake! I ran straight to BYC and got some excellent advice= Put clear nail polish on it! (or candle wax) I didnt do candle wax because I tought the hens' heat might melt it,and bacteria could get in, and I thought the wax might rub/scrape off and provide no protection. But I had lots of clear polish soooo..... This egg has the polish on it in the pictures, and you should know, it was not leaking any fluid and no shell was actually missing. I also was careful not to put the polish all the way around the egg, nor where I thought the chick would pip through. I didnt want to seal the poor chick in! We kept candling it till day 20, and let the broody hen do all the rest.
And here is who hatched and is currently laying us some pretty creamy tan colored eggs....
Its a polish/marans mix, not super pretty, but one heck of a reliable layer with some big eggs!! This is what worked for me, I hope anyone who has a crack in their egg might try this or wax before tossing an egg out that is still viable. Good luck everyone!!
And here is who hatched and is currently laying us some pretty creamy tan colored eggs....
Its a polish/marans mix, not super pretty, but one heck of a reliable layer with some big eggs!! This is what worked for me, I hope anyone who has a crack in their egg might try this or wax before tossing an egg out that is still viable. Good luck everyone!!
