- May 12, 2011
- 654
- 62
- 221
I set 3 eggs under a broody on May 5th. Today marks day 23, and two of them still have no pips. I candled them at 18 days, and could see development and movement in all 3 eggs. One hatched on Sunday, which was day 20, with no problems.
The eggs have been moved around a bit, as the hen has gotten off and resettled, and her nest was filthy, so I had to move her and the eggs (very carefully) and put them back. We've looked under her several times over the week, to check for pips. Could we have caused the hatch to fail by moving the eggs too much? We really were careful, but they did get moved and we picked up each egg a few times to check progress. Also, I've caught the hen off her eggs, sitting somewhere else, twice since day 20.
So, should I just leave the other two and hope they're late bloomers? Or should we pretty much give up at this point? Is candling at this point helpful?
Anyway, any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!
The eggs have been moved around a bit, as the hen has gotten off and resettled, and her nest was filthy, so I had to move her and the eggs (very carefully) and put them back. We've looked under her several times over the week, to check for pips. Could we have caused the hatch to fail by moving the eggs too much? We really were careful, but they did get moved and we picked up each egg a few times to check progress. Also, I've caught the hen off her eggs, sitting somewhere else, twice since day 20.
So, should I just leave the other two and hope they're late bloomers? Or should we pretty much give up at this point? Is candling at this point helpful?
Anyway, any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!
