Disapearing clutch ... a mystery? Please help.

[Johntodd]

So our proud gamefowl, Tilly, was given a clutch of eggs when she went broody. There were 16 of them. She very dutifully sat on them, leaving only once a day, as usual for broodies. Yes, she seemed to be giving adequate coverage to all 16 eggs, even though gamefowl are a bit smaller than most chooks.

Saturday, the 19th, was the 21-day mark. No chicks. No chicks this morning, either.

So we waited until she came off the nest and took a look. There were 4 eggs, and a bunch of broken shells, and a bad smell. The 4 eggs seemed mostly empty, and were cracked and runny and poopy, so we tossed them.

We cleaned out her box, installed fresh hay and 4 fresh eggs, and at last sighting, she was getting settled back in on them.

So, what happened? Where did the eggs go, and why were the last 4 worthless anyway? Why did the whole clutch just fail? Tilly really seems to be in good health and good spirits. She seems to be doing her job.

Thanks!
-Johntodd

 

[chickens really]

Possibly not fertile eggs. Have you candled the remaining 4 ?

 

[Johntodd]

No candling. But how would she know if they are infertile, and what happened to them? Where did they go?

 

[Molpet]

an infertile egg will eventually rot under a hot hen... she will smell it and get rid of it so it doesn't attract predators.
fertile eggs have a bullseye... spot check some in the frying pan and hopefully the rest will be the same...only way to tell other than candling a developing egg

 

[Johntodd]

Wow! I did not know that!