45 day, 10 bad eggs that didn't hatch

[motorboat]

I'm totally confused here.

One of my hens went broody in July. The first 5 eggs were dudes. Yes I have a rooster and he mates with them. I watched him mate with 3 chicks on a Wed. On Thurs I watched all 3 lay egss and I put them under the broody hen a few mins after they were laid. All 3 of those were duds. I tried one more time and candling revealed nothing and after 2 weeks when shining a flashlight on them the egg shells were spotty looking.

I'm on the east coast of the US. it's been hot but not too hot.

I'm worried about the hen sitting up there for almost 2 months.

I don't know if the rooster is sterile.

I don't know how to make the broody hen stop sitting.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Eggs hatch day 20-21 if they aren't hatched by day 25 or so they're dead and should be tossed out.

 

[motorboat]

Eggs hatch day 20-21 if they aren't hatched by day 25 or so they're dead and should be tossed out.

OK my original message was poorly written.

I know how long it takes.

The first 5 eggs went the full 21 days and I think a few days passed. When I picked them up you could hear liquid sloshing around inside. All 5 were like that. I opened them and they were just runny, smelly yolks.

The next 2 times I put what I believed to be fertilized eggs under the hen. I candled them but saw nothing but spotty egg shells. No veins, no eye, nothing. OK? All the eggs were duds so what is going on??????????????

This is essentially what all the eggs look like after about 2 weeks. Maybe not that bad but spotty nonetheless. I don't know if this is because the eggs go bad because it's hot and they aren't fertilized or if it's something else. I got this image from here.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

How old is the roo? Would be the first question. And even though he's "mating" he might be having trouble actually "making contact". Not sure how else to say it. Some people have found it neccessary to clip the feathers around the vent of the females to help. You can check the fertility of the eggs by collecting a couple and breaking them open in a bowl and inspecting the yolk. If it's fertile you should see a bullseye, if it's not you'll see a small white "dot" on the egg. Examples:


I would start here, checking fertility then you will know if it's a roo problem or incubation problem.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

OK my original message was poorly written.

I know how long it takes.

The first 5 eggs went the full 21 days and I think a few days passed. When I picked them up you could hear liquid sloshing around inside. All 5 were like that. I opened them and they were just runny, smelly yolks.

The next 2 times I put what I believed to be fertilized eggs under the hen. I candled them but saw nothing but spotty egg shells. No veins, no eye, nothing. OK? All the eggs were duds so what is going on??????????????

This is essentially what all the eggs look like after about 2 weeks. Maybe not that bad but spotty nonetheless. I don't know if this is because the eggs go bad because it's hot and they aren't fertilized or if it's something else. I got this image from here.

It just looks like bad pores in the shell, doesn't seem to be anything with the chick inside, though never having a problem myself i think they can cause incubation issues.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

It just looks like bad pores in the shell, doesn't seem to be anything with the chick inside, though never having a problem myself i think they can cause incubation issues.

That wasn't actually one of the posters pics, they were using it for an example.

Most people recommend against incubating eggs with very porous shells. I've had some rather porous ones myself that hatched out fine that I had got in the beginning of my hatching from my sister's egg.

 

[motorboat]

Thanks, Amy. I will check to see if any of the eggs are fertilized.

I'm concerned for the hen. How long can she stay up there before it affects her health?

I might buy some fertilized eggs on Ebay. Time is running out. It will be cold in a few months.

 

[motorboat]

OK, I think at least one of them is fertilized. Right? The one on the left.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

OK, I think at least one of them is fertilized. Right? The one on the left.

Yup, that is definitely fertilized-the one on the left. I don't see the germinal disc on the right one to tell, but at least you know that your rooster is getting contact with at least one hen.

 

[motorboat]

Thanks Amy. Do you know how long an egg can sit in the nest box before I have to move it under the broody hen? Should I wear latex gloves? I'm trying to figure out why all the eggs have flopped so far.