38 day chicken egg alive and hatching!?

[amandagwinter]

So my chickens laid a clutch of 23 eggs. I counted down to the day when one of my hens first started sitting.

March 3rd, 12 out of the 23 chickens hatched. I gave the other 11 some time. I candled them and a few were bad so I cracked them and it was old yolk. I went ahead and left the other 4 in the nest, she was still broody so I let her have em.

Here we are 17 days later and She hasnt been sitting on them so I cleaned the coop and set the eggs in the Wheel Barrow (17 days plus 21 days I did not think anything of it! They had to be bad by then right!!) to take to the poop pile. I dumped the wheel Barrow in the poop pile. 1 of the eggs cracked upon dumping. Curious I investigated.

And it was moving. I cried and cried. My husband got the heat lamp and we put it under it. It didnt make it.

I gathered the remaining 3 from the poop pile and put them under the heat lamp and candled them. 1 was floating and looked dead. 2 were still moving.

I checked on them this morning again and 1 seemed to have died, not giving up yet though. The other one is pipping now as we speak and chirping.

My question is these eggs are 38 days old from the time she sat on them until today. How is this possible!??

I feel absolutely horrible about this!

 

[Mosey2003]

I would suspect some were laid later and she was starting over. Not necessarily laid by her, but by another hen and grabbed by her, or laid in her nest with her.

 

[amandagwinter]

I would suspect some were laid later and she was starting over. Not necessarily laid by her, but by another hen and grabbed by her, or laid in her nest with her.

I locked her and the 23 eggs in the coop when she started to sit. There could not have been anymore eggs laid by any other chickens. It is the same 23 she started out with.

 

[Mosey2003]

That's really something then!

 

[amandagwinter]

My friend incubates and she suggested that maybe something with the humidity slowed there growth. Idk I am at a loss. Absolutely crazy.

I maybe thought since there were 23 eggs maybe not all were in direct contact with the right temp when she was sitting. So when the 11 hatched they got the right temp and then started the process?