a bit confused

[childofgod]

Hello, I am new to the chicken raising situation, and am in a bit of a quandary..I have 2 bantams that have been sitting on eggs for over a month..they share the box they are in..they have "been with the rooster" so to speak, but, I am not sure if the eggs are fertile or not. I know they have the same eggs and have not layed any more in over a month..I don't see any signs of hatching..I am at a loss as to what to do with the eggs..should I leave them alone in the hopes that they will make baby chicks, or throw them out? I hate to take them away from them if they are fertile only to see a baby chick...but, at the same time, if they are not...I hope it makes sense. Like I said, I am new to all of this, and am in a quandary as to what to do...it's been over a month since the last egg was laid..
can anyone help me? my email address is [email protected] thank you so very much and god bless. katheryn heien.

 

[All Henned Up]

you can candle them to see if any devolpment has occurred, but it only takes 21 days to incubate a chicken egg. having said that I would throw them out.
you can make a candler by putting a box over a lamp with a hole in the top a little smaller than size of the egg so if won't fall through. tape up box so no light comes out except for the egg hole.
Then go into dark room and put egg over the hole to see inside the egg.
Welcome and enjoy BYC!
Steve

 

[roostersandhens]

 

[drumstick diva]

You could tap gently on the eggs and see if they wiggle or chirp in response. Usually a hen knows if the eggs are bad and kicks them out. If you have a good flashling you could try candaling with ii in a dark room.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome to BYC! Agree with everybody else your best bet is to try candling them if you don't hear any cheeping when you tap them. But if you are sure it has been over a month that they have been sitting on the eggs, they are most probably bad. The BYC Learning Center article shows how to candle and what you should see. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

 

[petrel]

Welcome!

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC! I agree with the above advice...also, I would remove your personal email from your post for security reasons/spam email. Good luck to you. https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-amp-hatching-eggs

 

[chickenboy190]