Broody laying on fertile eggs way past the 21 day mark.....now what?

[alaskan_crew]

I haven't tried candling the eggs yet but when I slighlty jiggled the eggs (2) today it felt lock a rock was inside it. According to my records these eggs would have hatched on the 4th of August. Could they be dead inside? Should I leave them for a little while longer under her? Please help.

 

[Mrs. K]

I do not think that there is any hope. I think they are dead. If they were due on Aug 4, you might wait two more days, but after that, they have missed their window, and probably failed to develop for some reason or other. Your hen may have left them too long, or they may not have been fertilized, or they just quit growing.

Sorry.

Mrs.K

 

[mothersin2ition]

I agree with PP- the eggs that Ive had that felt like that (like a rock inside) were eggs that were old but never developed- they had large air sacs but no developing chick inside, it was just the yolk moving around when I jiggled them.

 

[alaskan_crew]

I tried to reply via iPhone but doesn't look like it worked! Anyways, I wanted to thank both of you ladies for taking time to reply and advise me of my situation. I really appreciate it.
How should I dispose of these eggs? I'm a little curious as to if there was any sort of development if they were in fact fertile. I know it sounds a little morbid. My DH is forbidding cracking them open as there might be a horrendous stench!...Is that true?

 

[pgpoultry]

If you crack the eggs there almost certainly will be a stench, but you will learn what has happened. My tip is to break them open within a clear plastic bag (make sure there are no holes). You can place the contents after inspection into e.g an old margarine tub with a sealing lid.

Sandie

 

[mothersin2ition]

I always crack my eggs open too, to see if I can tell when they died, or what happened etc. Lately, since it's been warm outside, I've been cracking mine outside into a bowl so it doesnt smell up the house or anything

. When they are further along, I have even dug a hole by our fields and "buried" them, I just cant bring myself to throw away a baby, no matter how it died. Good luck, maybe you can figure out what happened? I know there is a great thread somewhere here that has lots of info and graphic pictures that show how chicks have died from various factors. Very informational.