Candle recommendations

[kesrchicky16]

I don't want to incubate but I have 1 broody hen I don't think will ever lay again. I let her set eggs, they hatched she cared for a while (7 weeks) let them go off and do their thing and 1 month later she was broody again. Infact today I pulled her off the nest, told her it was too cold for babies, brought the eggs in and went back to the coop to find her with her hed stuck under another chickens watching the egg come out and immediately tucked the still wet egg under her. Her last clutch of 6 had 2 hatch, 1 partly develop, and 3 rotting yolks only. I will let her set more come spring but I need to be able to check the eggs when a partial hatch starts. She kept on those rotting eggs for 4 days after the first hatched only leaving a a few minutes to help the babies eat. I could have saved her some trouble if i knew.

That being said I don't want to spend a lot but I do have RIR, EE, I will be buying some Aracuna chicks and maybe someday Marans. I also have ducks and will need to check them at the beginning of setting because I have one duck that lays double yolk every time she passes an egg.

I have 6 buff Orpington hens and 4 are showing signs of mild broodyness so I could well end up with 4+ broodies setting next year and don't want them to have to set rotten eggs that haven't developed.

Yes I know the harsh realities that come with growing pullet and cockerels and am prepared. I have the plans for a separate broody coop with isolation cages so the mamas won't be messed with while they are doing their job and a chick proof run so the cats can't eat them until they get big enough to defend themselves.

I look forward to your reccomendations.

 

[Hope Hughes]

If you are ok with chicks and have a different coop or some place to keep momma out of the elements i would let her go broody. She will keep them warm and protected even when hatched. No sure where you are located but if it' to cold out you can keep her in the barn or even a big broader with her babies somehere out of the elements after born. ​

 

[kesrchicky16]

If I can martial the funds for build the broody coop thus winter it will belong to the ducks until water can melt during the day. I only have power for water heaters in one place outside. I was going to just winter my ducks with my chickens but the roos and drakes can't get along without a fence separating them. So for now my ducks are protected but sleeping behind fencing but outside.

 

[Hope Hughes]

As long as you keep her from the elements you don' have to put any heater in there... just have to watch and make sure she is keeping warm. You could try a heating pad on low or med if she starts to show signs of too cold that way she has the option if needed... But she probably won' need it. ​

 

[kesrchicky16]

As long as you keep her from the elements you don' have to put any heater in there... just have to watch and make sure she is keeping warm. You could try a heating pad on low or med if she starts to show signs of too cold that way she has the option if needed... But she probably won' need it. ​

I don't supplement heat for the birds at all. She did just fine last year. I do have to heat water though. I can still get daytime melt in the sun but in about a month every set of animals has to have a water heater in their pen or they will not have anything to drink.

What I was meaning was if I build my second coop before spring I should let my ducks have it. I will have the second coop bookend with my enclosed run so that the animals all have full view of eachother to make intros easier. I'm actually very excited for how it will end up when all is said and done. Now I just need an extra $600 for supplies and fencing since I will improve the run at the same time.

Do you have a candle you use and like?

 

[Hope Hughes]

If you are meaning candle for water heat... No I don't. We used a pet water bowl heater that was given to us.
Sorta like this..

Other then that since they don' drink at night we would just fill the troughs in the morning for all the animals and keep them in the sun. But I am not the best to help with that up I don' live in northern states...
Wish I could help more on that. You could try searching it on here if no one else comments.. sorry ​

 

[kesrchicky16]

Nope I guess I need to clarify my questions. I have flock management for the winter handled. I have a kinda sad broody hen that wishes I'd leave her be and will probably be broody the rest of her life and is a terrific mama. I don't want an incubater as I don't want babies that badly.

I like practical gifts of things I will buy anyway so for under the Christmas tree I want an egg candle so that I can see inside the shells of the unhatched eggs of each clutch next spring when the others from that clutch are 2 day old chicks. If the eggs are still alive I will leave them with mama if they are undeveloped or dead I will take them so she can focus if the chicks. I also need to be able to check duck eggs for double yolks so I don't allow those in a clutch for a broody duck, as I have 2 ducks that have had successful hatched prior to coming to my house.

I have some darker eggs. RIR, EE, etc

 

[BantyChooks]

#79643
Here's some candler suggestions along with some DIY.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hopefully BC answered your question. Keys in being able to see inside an egg is the power of the light, how dark the room is, and maybe fresh batteries. I can’t see in my green eggs very well with my set-up so I can’t help with that question.

I know you did not ask but you might consider why you are getting that many rotting eggs. That’s pretty unusual, I hardly ever get one over a period of several years. When a hen lays an egg about the last thing she does is put a liquid layer of what we call bloom on it. That’s why an egg that was just laid looks wet. It quickly dries and forms a barrier that helps keep bacteria out but still lets the developing chick breathe. Hens can hide a nest, lay eggs for over a two week period, then sit on them for another three weeks and still get them to hatch without any going rotten. They do that all the time. Your ducks will go longer and sometimes the nest will be in worse locations.

The egg rots because bacteria gets inside. The egg provides a perfect food for the bacteria to eat and incubation temperature is perfect for them to multiply. If bacteria gets inside you are going to have problems.

What is allowing that bacteria to get inside? Is that bloom somehow being removed? Are you washing or sanding the eggs to get stuff off if they are dirty? Does having the ducks in there somehow mess up the eggs, ducks can be wet? Are you setting dirty eggs? A light dry dusting isn’t a problem but globs of poop or mud on them can allow bacteria inside. The only time I had a problem with rotting eggs was when an egg broke in the nest and coated the other eggs with that goop. None of those eggs hatched. I only set pretty clean eggs.

Good luck on building a candler that allows you to see inside those eggs, those green ones can be a real challenge. But give some thoughts as to why you are getting so many rotten eggs, that’s something that could probably be fixed. You sure don’t want to be dealing with those if you can avoid it.

 

[kesrchicky16]

Hopefully BC answered your question. Keys in being able to see inside an egg is the power of the light, how dark the room is, and maybe fresh batteries. I can’t see in my green eggs very well with my set-up so I can’t help with that question.

I know you did not ask but you might consider why you are getting that many rotting eggs. That’s pretty unusual, I hardly ever get one over a period of several years. When a hen lays an egg about the last thing she does is put a liquid layer of what we call bloom on it. That’s why an egg that was just laid looks wet. It quickly dries and forms a barrier that helps keep bacteria out but still lets the developing chick breathe. Hens can hide a nest, lay eggs for over a two week period, then sit on them for another three weeks and still get them to hatch without any going rotten. They do that all the time. Your ducks will go longer and sometimes the nest will be in worse locations.

The egg rots because bacteria gets inside. The egg provides a perfect food for the bacteria to eat and incubation temperature is perfect for them to multiply. If bacteria gets inside you are going to have problems.

What is allowing that bacteria to get inside? Is that bloom somehow being removed? Are you washing or sanding the eggs to get stuff off if they are dirty? Does having the ducks in there somehow mess up the eggs, ducks can be wet? Are you setting dirty eggs? A light dry dusting isn’t a problem but globs of poop or mud on them can allow bacteria inside. The only time I had a problem with rotting eggs was when an egg broke in the nest and coated the other eggs with that goop. None of those eggs hatched. I only set pretty clean eggs.

Good luck on building a candler that allows you to see inside those eggs, those green ones can be a real challenge. But give some thoughts as to why you are getting so many rotten eggs, that’s something that could probably be fixed. You sure don’t want to be dealing with those if you can avoid it.

I hadn't thought about it. I didn't have the ducks at the time. It was probably the rain. We had a terrible rain storm about 1 week before hatch that ended up flooding where she was nesting. I was not even mildly prepared for broodies or chicks. I was just tired of fighting her broody. She was sort off broody starting in May, I got roos in July, she bit me 2 days after I turned the roos out with the hens. I gave her 24 hours worth of eggs and told her good luck.

You bring up some other questions though. How should I handle the eggs before setting and how many to give her? If they can collect 2 weeks worth of their own lay, I should be able to back track a couple days to give her a full nest.

I learned a lot from her hatching, have much better planning now. I'll probably loose 6 layers in the spring based on how they are acting. But that's 6 clutches of chicks if I do it right.