Broody Hen Thread!

[fisherlady]

ok I will try and be patient! Would I be able to hear chicka chirping if they hatch and are under her still or will they be quiet since they are warm and snuggly? Lol

Usually you can hear them, but they are only vocal in spurts, not constantly. The hen should be talking to them, especially if you get near the nest and she is warning them to be quiet, lol

 

[RachaelR32]

I agree it is a preference of whether to candle or not.

Blue and dark brown are especially hard to candle. I personally prefer to do those at day 3 to 5 as it is easier to see the singular embryo dot with map lines of veins. By day 10, with those dark or blue eggs, it is really, really hard to distinguish from shell and embryo growth. By 14,  you can sometimes see the growing air sac.

I am not sophisticated in my candling though. I use a cheap LED flashlight with a cupped hand standing outside the nest. Gently lift, scoop, candle, return. Hen will be grumpy, but shouldn't protest much as you will be doing this in the dark of night.  I haven't tried it yet, but you can place a washer on the face of the flashlight to focus the beam better for brighter light into the egg.

I tend to let my blue and dark eggs run the course unless I make effort to really try to candle with better equipment. 

On the other hand, if you really want chicks, candeling can tell you if they were fertile, and candeling early at day 3 to 5 gives you ample time to reset with new eggs if a majority are a bust (You would need to reset all eggs otherwise you'd have a staggered hatch unless you supplement with an incubator).

LofMc

I might try tomorrow night then. It would be good to know at least some are fertile.

 

[JennyBchickadee]

I hear chirping!! And my broody is purring like a cat....what's up with that??? Lol

 

[fisherlady]

I hear chirping!! And my broody is purring like a cat....what's up with that??? Lol

That is great! A hen's vocalizations are very diverse... you will come to recognize many of her sounds and what they mean.

 

[gimmie birdies]

That sound comforts the hatching egg, and let's the egg know someone is looking forward to it hatching.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I hear chirping!! And my broody is purring like a cat....what's up with that??? Lol

The hen is literally encouraging the chicks to hatch...she purrs and prods them to not give up during the arduous effort!

LofMc

 

[RachaelR32]

When went out to check on my girls this morning the broody decided to come out and eat with the others so I gave them some sunflower seeds to keep her busy and took the opportunity to candle the eggs. Couldn't see anything in the dark one or the blue ones. I think the white bantam egg looked ok - worried that this one might hatch earlier than the others now that I've neen reading about incubation times. Might have seen something in big white one. Not sure about the pale brown ones - could see yolk but don't know if anything has developed. Really not sure what I was looking for. I just stuck them all back under her as I wasn't sure. She settled back down on them ok after eating, drinking and pecking/flapping at the others - reminding the others where she is in the pecking order maybe. I hope they are OK. It will be disappointing for her if she sits really well but doesn't hatch any.

 

[sharol]

When went out to check on my girls this morning the broody decided to come out and eat with the others so I gave them some sunflower seeds to keep her busy and took the opportunity to candle the eggs. Couldn't see anything in the dark one or the blue ones. I think the white bantam egg looked ok - worried that this one might hatch earlier than the others now that I've neen reading about incubation times. Might have seen something in big white one. Not sure about the pale brown ones - could see yolk but don't know if anything has developed. Really not sure what I was looking for. I just stuck them all back under her as I wasn't sure. She settled back down on them ok after eating, drinking and pecking/flapping at the others - reminding the others where she is in the pecking order maybe. I hope they are OK. It will be disappointing for her if she sits really well but doesn't hatch any.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

This is the best I've ever seen as far as progressive candling images.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had a really dark BCM egg, I could not see into and thought it was hopeless. then on day 10 I could see an air cell, it gave me hope and the chick hatched.

 

[RachaelR32]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

This is the best I've ever seen as far as progressive candling images.

I'd been looking at those pictures but then when I was out there I didn't have them with me. But what I saw I don't think looked like the 76 or 100 hrs pictures (was about 92 hrs since I put them under her). But it didn't look like the unincubated eggs that I got from the store either. I'll just leave them alone for now I think.