Day two (Aug 7) for broody hen on 14 eggs

[YoungHen]

(they weren't cold all they time btw, just when she got off to eat and stretch) )

 

[mychoock]

Well, I separated her this morning, because she was laying out in the run and very lethargic, barely responsive. She didn't make it. Odd, she was just fine yesterday evening. I performed a necropsy. No bruising, not egg bound, no physical trauma. The only thing unusual was her liver. It was grainy in texture and the outer surface was yellowed.
I made a quickie incubator, hopefully we can still hatch out together! Here is a link on candling. I don't plan to candle them until Sunday or Monday, easier to see at that point.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

Regarding the moved egg, she didn't kick it out. It was in a nest box one row higher than she was nesting. I looked here on BYC and read that people have seen them tuck the egg under their "chin" and move eggs. Others have said they saw a hen scoop an egg up in her wing and move it. Crazy!
Regarding the coop/run, it's 8' wide and 16' long, that's 128 square feet/25 chickens, giving 5.12 square feet per bird. Suggested sq ft per bird is 2-4.
I will be adding on to it soon, and hopefully converting some of my roosters to free ranging.

I am so sorry about your hen. I read this when you posted, but have had a lot of stuff happening at home. I wanted to say that I am sad about this. How is your incubator doing?

 

[mychoock]

So this is Day 15 of my brooding saga. Auntie Biticken is still sitting on all 14 eggs. She gets off sometime each day to eat a bit, and presumably drink water. She has done three large stinky poops in all this time.

I look at her and just wonder how she will know what to do with the baby chicks. I know God's great creation manages these things just fine, but after all, she doesn't have any books to read about how to be a good mother hen. It is going to be fun to see all this happening.

I haven't candled the eggs. I did go in one morning and smell and terrible smell, and had just been reading a post about eggs that go rotten. So I checked each egg, and they were all clean-smelling. The hen sure pecked at me, but I wore gloves.

I am getting a bit anxious about Hatching Day. I will certainly report on what takes place.

 

[epignosisjs]

The incubator is fine, thank you! However, candling the eggs has shown no growth. I plan to crack one open tomorrow (outside, of course!) to see if it was infertile or fertile but arrested development. Thanks for the update! Good luck!

 

[mychoock]

Evening of Day 20. I am excited, scared, nervous. I keep telling myself that every thing will go well tomorrow, but I am worried that my hen has done all this work for nothing.

We really want to watch nature take its course here. I will post as events unfold tomorrow (or the next day). I will try to get pictures also.

 

[mychoock]

Day 21. I keep checking on my broody hen, but no chicks yet. However, the hen has shifted her position several times, I mean really moved around on the nest, which is unusual for her. Does that mean things are starting to happen?

I am wondering how you are doing with your incubator, epignosisjs. Did you ever candle your eggs? I hope you have a chance to hatch out some eggs.

 

[12304]

what is candling????

 

[mychoock]

I don't actually know. I haven't done it, and I think there is information in one of the other threads. I want to read up on it, but have been so busy that it was easier to just not do it.

However, if I don't have any chicks hatched out by tomorrow, I guess I should take some candling lessons.

 

[epignosisjs]

Day 21. I keep checking on my broody hen, but no chicks yet. However, the hen has shifted her position several times, I mean really moved around on the nest, which is unusual for her. Does that mean things are starting to happen?

I am wondering how you are doing with your incubator, epignosisjs. Did you ever candle your eggs? I hope you have a chance to hatch out some eggs.

Yes, I did candle them, but saw no development. I finally cracked open the eggs yesterday to see if they were infertile or fertile but arrested development. One was quite nasty with bacterial grow. The other six were either infertile or fertile but no development past day 2 or 3. I don't think my makeshift incubator is consistent enough to provide good hatching results. So I will be constructing one using designs of BYCers.
I hope you have great success with your broody!

 

[epignosisjs]

what is candling????

Here is a link on making a candler:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-egg-candler-using-common-household-materials

Here is a link on candling eggs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/candling-pics-progression-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs

Candling is shining concentrated light through an egg in order to determine embryo development, bacterial growth, no development, etc.