Are the Broody Hen's Eggs going to hatch?

[The Prancing Raptor]

I am looking for some guidance, this is my first time hatching anything & I'm thinking most of these eggs are not viable...

The story:
My little, free range Spitzhauben Pullet, Teacup, went missing when we had that bitterly cold weather around January 15, 2024. Fast forward 2 weeks & I found her eating with the flock on January 30. I followed her back to her nest & found she had been sitting on 5 eggs (all are her eggs) laid directly on sheet metal surrounded by a little bit of pink fiberglass insulation. The "nest" was thankfully out of the wind. That night I moved her & the eggs into her own broody hen house with enclosure (little orange chicken coop from Tractor Supply) & she's been locked onto that clutch ever since. This is her first time going broody.

I look in everyday when she leaves & I hear no peeping, see no pips. They are always warm. No smells at all.

Counting backwards, I think yesterday should have been day 21 but that's a guess.

Maybe it was a mistake to do so, but today, I waited until Teacup got off the nest & candled them as fast as possible right there under my coat... 4 eggs look solid/dark - cannot see an air chamber.

However, one is nearly all air chamber but did NOT see movement in the dark part. I found this video that best shows what that single egg looks like:

I couldn't wait for it to get dark out.

Thank you to Kiki for that very helpful video!

Take into account that this is my first time candling & I was trying to be fast as Teacup was coming back. I just spent 5 to 10 seconds looking at that egg. I actually thought it was empty/not viable because there was so much air space. Now I wish I had taken more time to look at it...sigh.

In addition to all of this, I am considering driving to Cackle Hatchery on Thursday & buying a few day old chicks to put under her. Honestly, I thought she had frozen to death during her absence - I know the temperature was -2F/-19C one morning. It would be nice to see her "rewarded" with some chicks for her dedication to that clutch during the very worst weather possible.


The Questions:
Should I give the eggs a few more days under Teacup?

Is it a mistake to put a few day old chicks under her this Thursday night if she still sitting on a possibly viable egg which would be day 24 (estimate) of that single egg?

Thanks for any help. I really appriciate this forum....I reference it so, so much, lol

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

Just for a laugh, here is a photo of where she decided was a good place to lay eggs.... under an abandoned mobile home on sheet metal bent at a 45 degree slope. FYI, I do have perfectly good nesting boxes in the coop for goodness sake!

 

[Birdinhand]

If you are reasonably sure you are at day 21, maybe give it another day and if no sign of hatching, I’d go for the day old chick trick and see how it goes. Chances are probably good she’ll see then as her own. That broody state is kind of zombie like and the chirping of chicks might just help snap her into mothering mode. At some point it will truly be time to give up on the eggs and get them out of there to help the process along and reduce the chance of one of them blowing up and making a nasty mess of her.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

Thank you for your help Birdinhand.

Yep, the date when she started to sit is questionable but that's my best estimate... I know she was missing on either Jan 15th or 16th but it could have been earlier.

Then I find myself wondering if the cold temperatures have effected the start of life in the egg being that they were laid on bare metal

I am hopeful there is life in that single egg since the air cell is so large but I will try adding some day old chicks come Thursday night/Friday morning.

I really don't want to candle again...I don't know what I'm doing & I'm afraid I'm going to upset her or hurt the egg's chance at life.

Thanks again for your help, it really helps with my stress level!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

First, I think you are taking the right approach. The eggs being all dark is a good thing. That means they remained viable and alive during the cold snap. The last couple days, they should be all dark. I'm glad you haven't disturbed her much.
Speaking of when is hatch day. Do you know which day she went missing? That is likely the day she started sitting full time. Prior to that, they remain with the flock and just go to their secret spot to lay an egg each day.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

Hello Chicken Canoe,

I noticed she went missing either on Jan 15 or Jan 16. That puts the estimated hatch date at yesterday or today.

Thanks for the feedback on the hands off approach. Teacup is flighty & I don't want to upset her unnecessarily. Moving her & her eggs into the brooding apartment was, uh... dramatic.

So "dark eggs" are good around the 21 day mark? The air cell was pretty small, maybe like a "Day 7 egg" would look (according to air chamber charts I've referenced on Backyard Chickens). Also, I didn't see veining but that could be my inexperience.

Truth be told, I was not clear on what I was looking at & didn't have the luxury of time. That hen only spends 2 or 3 minutes off the nest! Candling sounded better in my head when I decided to try. I thought I would see some clear & obvious sign of a chick or not. That didn't happen.

I'm giving her the week with the eggs. If they haven't hatched, I'll take them & properly candle them. If there are viable chicks I'll put them back with her.

As an aside, are you going to be selling Penedesenca eggs this year? I really like the more active breeds & Pennies are on my radar. LOL, I must inspire such trust now that I've illustrated out how crappy I am at taking care of a clutch. I will get up to speed I promise!

How do you find they tolerate the cold? I hope your chickens didn't get too beat up with frostbite. My Jungle Fowl roosters had their combs strongly affected...actually all my breeds except for the Spitzhauben were bitten. I'm sure my ventilation is good but the cold was so intense they all got hit. Now I've got to sort out how to avoid that in the future...so much to learn!

Thanks for your input, I'm grateful for your help & concern.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

I just checked Teacup's nest. The eggs were still warm but had no pips, sounds, movements & no smell. I had about 1 minute of observation before she was back at her nest... she is fast.

I'll probably be picking up an incubator & a candler at Cackle Hatchery tomorrow when I go to look at chicks. Maybe not for use on these eggs but it would be nice to have on stand-by for future situations.

 

[The Prancing Raptor]

I sat on a bench this morning & waited for Teacup to leave her broody coop. I saw her walk down the coop ramp & out to her water on the ground. I walked up to the coop & opened the nesting box & she must have "quantum leaped" because when I looked inside she was already getting back on her nest.

I only saw one egg as the others had been shifted from their original position as well as her body was covering the view. I may have heard some weak cheep sounds but the African geese were screaming at that exact moment so it was probably my imagination.

I'll not go to Cackle today for day old chicks. If this hatch doesn't work out by next week I will go to Cackle then.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I just checked Teacup's nest. The eggs were still warm but had no pips, sounds, movements & no smell. I had about 1 minute of observation before she was back at her nest... she is fast.

I'll probably be picking up an incubator & a candler at Cackle Hatchery tomorrow when I go to look at chicks. Maybe not for use on these eggs but it would be nice to have on stand-by for future situations.

I sat on a bench this morning & waited for Teacup to leave her broody coop. I saw her walk down the coop ramp & out to her water on the ground. I walked up to the coop & opened the nesting box & she must have "quantum leaped" because when I looked inside she was already getting back on her nest.

I only saw one egg as the others had been shifted from their original position as well as her body was covering the view. I may have heard some weak cheep sounds but the African geese were screaming at that exact moment so it was probably my imagination.

I'll not go to Cackle today for day old chicks. If this hatch doesn't work out by next week I will go to Cackle then.

Those things tell me that either it is very cold out (which I know it isn't since I'm in MO too - or that hatching may be imminent since she wants to sit and retain humidity. They tend to sit tight all during pipping and hatching to retain humidity. That is why it is important for people to sit on their hands at that time.
I'm amazed or even appalled at the number of people constantly disturbing sitting hens. They don't need our help. I think they've been hatching successfully for millions of years without human intervention.
I'm not referring to you. You seem to be very careful of that.

 

[jessejeanne]

I had a bantam hen going broody last year when it was not that cold as at your place, but still -5 degrees celcius etc… She also refused to eat the first week which made her super skinny, after 21 days, we still didn’t have any hatches and I was constantly wondering whether we would even get baby chicks, but I can tell you that after 28 days, three hatched, and 5 other eggs still were alive but died since she left the nest and I didn’t know what to do. I would just be patient!! Nature often is stronger than we think ;-)