Broody sitting on eggs past 23 days

[TheresaV]

I gave my devoted Marin broody, Sydney, four fertile eggs to sit on. She is 2 years old and this is her first time trying to hatch eggs. She is on a nest of her own in a private area within sight of the rest of the flock. Every day she goes outside in the chicken yard by herself, and often gets off the nest another time as well. She never leaves the eggs for very long. She seems to still be strong and healthy.

The problem is we are on day 24 and the eggs haven't hatched yet. I never candled the eggs, so I really have no idea if chicks are growing in there or not. How much longer should I wait? If there are no chicks, will she break out of being broody on her own? What do I do with the eggs?

i really appreciate any advice I can get since it's my first time trying this as well.

 

[NatJ]

The problem is we are on day 24 and the eggs haven't hatched yet. I never candled the eggs, so I really have no idea if chicks are growing in there or not.

After that amount of time, I think they will probably not hatch.

I would candle the eggs to see if there are any chicks inside.

Since it's your first time, start by candling a few eggs from your refrigerator. That is what an infertile or un-incubated egg looks like. (Do it in a dark room, using a flashlight or cell phone light.)

Then candle the eggs from the broody hen.

If the egg is completely dark inside, except for the air cell, listen for peeps and sniff to see if it is rotten. If you hear peeps, put it back and give it a few more days. If you hear no peeps, but it does not stink, you might give it a few more days just in case it's a really late hatcher. If it stinks, dispose of it. (If it both peeps and stinks, I don't know what to say. I don't expect that situation to arise.)

At 24 days, if the egg is not full of chick, it is never going to hatch. It could be infertile, or it could have died somewhere along the way. You can take it outdoors and break it open to see what is inside, if you are curious. But I would not give it back to the hen.

How much longer should I wait? If there are no chicks, will she break out of being broody on her own? What do I do with the eggs?

I would not wait any longer, unless you candle the eggs and find full-size chicks in them. Wait another two days or so if that happens.

If you take the eggs and put her back in the main coop, she may quit being broody. Or you may have to break her broodiness, just like for any other broody hen.

To dispose of the eggs, you could bury them, or seal them in a plastic bag and throw in the trash, or any other method that gets rid of them without letting them make a stink in your house.

 

[TheresaV]

After that amount of time, I think they will probably not hatch.

I would candle the eggs to see if there are any chicks inside.

Since it's your first time, start by candling a few eggs from your refrigerator. That is what an infertile or un-incubated egg looks like. (Do it in a dark room, using a flashlight or cell phone light.)

Then candle the eggs from the broody hen.

If the egg is completely dark inside, except for the air cell, listen for peeps and sniff to see if it is rotten. If you hear peeps, put it back and give it a few more days. If you hear no peeps, but it does not stink, you might give it a few more days just in case it's a really late hatcher. If it stinks, dispose of it. (If it both peeps and stinks, I don't know what to say. I don't expect that situation to arise.)

At 24 days, if the egg is not full of chick, it is never going to hatch. It could be infertile, or it could have died somewhere along the way. You can take it outdoors and break it open to see what is inside, if you are curious. But I would not give it back to the hen.


I would not wait any longer, unless you candle the eggs and find full-size chicks in them. Wait another two days or so if that happens.

If you take the eggs and put her back in the main coop, she may quit being broody. Or you may have to break her broodiness, just like for any other broody hen.

To dispose of the eggs, you could bury them, or seal them in a plastic bag and throw in the trash, or any other method that gets rid of them without letting them make a stink in your house.

Thanks NatJ. I will candle the eggs and report back.

 

[TheresaV]

I candled the eggs which is so easy I wish I had done it earlier. Two of them looked just like the infertile eggs. The other two each had a smallish dark mass in them so those must have been fertile but the chicks died early on.

My theory is that even though Sydney is really into being broody, she may have been indifferent to the eggs. IDK what is normal but she let them get off to the sides of the nest and sometimes some of them got cool to the touch. I expected her to keep them gathered underneath her better, but wasn't sure.

Is that possible that a hen would love nesting but not care about eggs?

Also is that normal for only half the eggs to start developing? I plan to try again with a different broody hen when I get the opportunity. The flock I got my fertile eggs from has 25 hens and 2 roosters- that should give a decent chance of fertile eggs I would think. I will have a bigger clutch next time- what would be a good amount? I'm thinking 6 or 8. I would like to end up with at least 3 or 4 chicks.

 

[NatJ]

I candled the eggs which is so easy I wish I had done it earlier.

Now you know, so you can do it for future batches

My theory is that even though Sydney is really into being broody, she may have been indifferent to the eggs. IDK what is normal but she let them get off to the sides of the nest and sometimes some of them got cool to the touch. I expected her to keep them gathered underneath her better, but wasn't sure.

Is that possible that a hen would love nesting but not care about eggs?

I have not heard of that, but it does seem possible.

I have seen some hens that seemed more careful than others.

The amount of nesting material, and what kind it is, might also make a difference in how easy it is for the hen to keep the eggs together. (I'm not sure what kind would be best, or how much would be best, just speculating that it might make a difference.)

Also is that normal for only half the eggs to start developing? I plan to try again with a different broody hen when I get the opportunity. The flock I got my fertile eggs from has 25 hens and 2 roosters- that should give a decent chance of fertile eggs I would think. I will have a bigger clutch next time- what would be a good amount? I'm thinking 6 or 8. I would like to end up with at least 3 or 4 chicks.

I would expect high fertility in the case you describe, but roosters can have favorite hens and ignore other ones. So that might be one reason for infertile eggs. Or maybe they got pushed out and chilled too much at the wrong time.

For clutch size, as long as they do not stick out at the edges, you can give a hen whatever number you want. 6 or 8 might be good, or even up to a dozen, depending on how many chicks you might like to have.

Do you have a plan for the chicks, especially cockerels and extras?
If you intend to butcher some of them, then "too many" is not a big deal.
But if you can only keep a few, and are not willing to butcher them, then more eggs potentially means more chicks that you have to rehome.

 

[sourland]

Provide enough nesting material to create a bowl shaped nest that will contain the eggs. Grass hay is great for a broody hen's nest.

 

[TheresaV]

Now you know, so you can do it for future batches


I have not heard of that, but it does seem possible.

I have seen some hens that seemed more careful than others.

The amount of nesting material, and what kind it is, might also make a difference in how easy it is for the hen to keep the eggs together. (I'm not sure what kind would be best, or how much would be best, just speculating that it might make a difference.)


I would expect high fertility in the case you describe, but roosters can have favorite hens and ignore other ones. So that might be one reason for infertile eggs. Or maybe they got pushed out and chilled too much at the wrong time.

For clutch size, as long as they do not stick out at the edges, you can give a hen whatever number you want. 6 or 8 might be good, or even up to a dozen, depending on how many chicks you might like to have.

Do you have a plan for the chicks, especially cockerels and extras?
If you intend to butcher some of them, then "too many" is not a big deal.
But if you can only keep a few, and are not willing to butcher them, then more eggs potentially means more chicks that you have to rehome

I plan to butcher the excess chicks later on (another thing I will need to learn how to do.) I am actually doing this in hopes that one or two of the chicks can grow up to be nice roosters for my flock. I have enough laying hens right now but I want my flock to be self sustaining in the long run.

Maybe my broody nest needs more material added. I will work on that.

Thanks for helping. My next try will hopefully go better.

 

[TheresaV]

Provide enough nesting material to create a bowl shaped nest that will contain the eggs. Grass hay is great for a broody hen's nest.

Wow that's good to know. We have beef cows so we have plenty of grass hay that we got to feed them over the winter.

I will definitely give it a try!