Day 31 and still no chicks but I can hear chirping

[L12837H]

You’re right this is not my first hatch. It’s my third. My first two hatches were successful and did not need my assistance at all. I also understand that I did wrong by not asking for help before but I just thought it would be better if I gave them time hatch by themselves first.

I’m also a college student so I’ve been very busy with school, I didn’t really have time for myself or the to check up on the eggs earlier

 

[MGG]

This is only needed if the chicks are having trouble hatching. I wouldn't do this unless they can't zip and pip on their own. You can also kill the chick by doing this to early. OP read that article, and gives very specific and expert details on when, how and when not to assist the hatch.
@MGG @shawluvsbirds @FoodFreedomNow

I missed this earlier, sorry!

This is a picture of how they look. My chicken pooped on them a lot. The two marked in green started shaking when I opened the incubator to check on them. The two in blue are broken but when I tapped on them they didn’t move at all. I think they are dead when I tapped on the ones marked in red they didn’t do anything as well, and feel quite hard.
I will candle the “red” ones and see if they’re alive or not.
What should I do with the blue and green?

My gosh, they're filthy. Can you try to wash them off or something? That's a mess. What happened?
Let me finish reading through.

 

[bobbi-j]

April*** sorry about that

Let’s start over (I had a long day at work and my brain is slipping into neutral )
Your hen started spending all day and night on the nest starting March 23. You’re positive she was dedicated at this time and wasn’t just building her clutch? Did you notice her being broody and giver her the eggs to sit on?

April 17 you took her eggs and put them in an incubator. What kind of thermometer are you using? Are you sure it’s at the correct temperature?
I’m just trying to sort things out in my head as this doesn’t add up. In all my years of letting a broody hatch, the eggs rarely went past the day 21 mark since a broody is always the right temperature and humidity. Anything past day 23 under a broody has never hatched. By 31 days they’d be rotten.

I don’t have any helpful advice about what to do with your current eggs. I’m pretty hands off with my broodies, and don’t assist incubator hatches. I have tried in the past and it’s never ended well.

I will share how I manage my broodies, though, in hopes that you can glean something useful for the future. Sometimes I will let my broody hatch within the general population as long as she’s not setting somewhere that the other hens will want to lay their eggs (the hen’s “rank” in the flock can sometimes make a difference as well). If I do that, I will give her eggs that I have collected. I use a Sharpie and draw a circle around them so I will notice if anyone decides to add to the nest. Once a day O quickly lift the hen up with one hand and grab any unmarked eggs.

Sometimes I will separate the hen by sectioning off an area of the coop with chicken wire or something. I put food and water in with her, far enough from the nest that she has to get up to eat and drink so she doesn’t poop in the nest. Either way, she has to get off the nest once a day or so.

I candle the eggs at days 7 and 14. The first candling I mark any questionable eggs, and discard any that are obviously not developing on day 14. Sometimes I candle closer to day 21. I try super hard not to mess with the broody closer to day 21 as I don’t want to take a chance on her abandoning the nest - especially close to hatch date.

 

[bobbi-j]

How did it turn out? Did any chicks hatch?