Almost made a fatal mistake with Duchess's eggs!

[WriterofWords]

I said in the thread about Duchess hatching that I rescued 18 eggs but that it looked like they weren't going to hatch. I just went to throw them out so I could put some of my little quail eggs I'm testing in the hatcher and I decided to take the time to candle the eggs to see if there might be a chance for any of them at all.

All but 2 eggs were still good!! They haven't hatched because they are only 6 - 10 days along in formation! She still had another hen or two laying in her nest with her. So I transferred them to the bator instead of the hatcher so they wouldn't drown in the high humidity. Boy do feel stupid right about now, I almost threw 16 little chicks away!

 

[Judy]

I was following your other thread. Glad you discovered this!

I am very much in favor of "letting the Mama do it." But they are evidently pretty dumb about which eggs they need to be setting. With my broody, I controlled this, with marking eggs or with a cage to keep the others from pestering her and laying in her nest. I hate cages, but felt I was caging others out, and not her in, since she would not leave anyway, except the once a day that I let her out.

I have a new flock that I am hoping to get some broodies from; I want them to raise their own. Not sure how I am going to manage this as they are only just starting to lay now. I do want to be able to ensure that eggs under a broody are more or less the same age. So experiences like yours are very much of interest to me. So I'm reading these broody threads avidly.

Sure want to see how this all comes out for you!

 

[WriterofWords]

I should have realized right away that since she is a hoarder they would be due at drastically different times. But when the hens got in the fight and squashed one that was hatching my pea-sized brain said they were all at that stage. So now they are in the bator and I'm hoping for at least another cute little black and yellow one, the one that was crushed was black and yellow.

 

[Judy]

Wasn't that the one you felt was your Nugget's chick? Did I get the name right? (Too lazy to hunt up the other thread.)

Will be waiting to see how this comes out, for sure!

 

[Judy]

We all have our pea-sized brain moments.

 

[WriterofWords]

The one I thought might be Nugget's was the last one hatched that was yellow with reddish tints to it. I'm hoping for some of those too!! Some of these eggs are quite a bit farther along that others, some barely have veins showing and a slight heart beat.

 

[WriterofWords]

And I'm STILL trying to figure out how the heck she moved those babies!

 

[dancingbear]

I just mark and date the eggs. That way I know which ones go together. I remove unmarked eggs daily, so they don't accumulate and develop.