EE mix hatched her first brood Poor hatch rate

Lelilamom

Songster
9 Years
10 Years
Feb 28, 2013
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I have a EE mix hen that is hatching her first brood. She started with 9 eggs all marked on the same day, three got smooshed during her brood. She sat with 6 till the end and was surprisingly dedicated for a hen not quite 12 mos. I did find her off her nest on day 19 and her eggs mostly cold. On day 21 one baby hatched and I moved her, thee remaining eggs and her baby to the brooder. It's day 24 now and she's still sitting on her eggs faithfully. Does she know something I don't? I'd candle the remaining five eggs but honestly, I've candled eggs in the past and was dead wrong on what was inside.

And I hate making a mistake. Should I relieve her of her brooding duties? I had a bantam hen brooding at the same time and she hatched 7 of 10 eggs. And amazing ratio for a bantam.

FYI, I have three roos mating with my standards. My alpha is sterile. My beta is a mixed breed and I think is fertilizing my hens. My bantam roo is quite the ladies man.
 
I have a EE mix hen that is hatching her first brood. She started with 9 eggs all marked on the same day, three got smooshed during her brood. She sat with 6 till the end and was surprisingly dedicated for a hen not quite 12 mos. I did find her off her nest on day 19 and her eggs mostly cold. On day 21 one baby hatched and I moved her, thee remaining eggs and her baby to the brooder. It's day 24 now and she's still sitting on her eggs faithfully. Does she know something I don't? I'd candle the remaining five eggs but honestly, I've candled eggs in the past and was dead wrong on what was inside.

And I hate making a mistake. Should I relieve her of her brooding duties? I had a bantam hen brooding at the same time and she hatched 7 of 10 eggs. And amazing ratio for a bantam.

FYI, I have three roos mating with my standards. My alpha is sterile. My beta is a mixed breed and I think is fertilizing my hens. My bantam roo is quite the ladies man.
@DucksAreBest help
 
I have a EE mix hen that is hatching her first brood. She started with 9 eggs all marked on the same day, three got smooshed during her brood. She sat with 6 till the end and was surprisingly dedicated for a hen not quite 12 mos. I did find her off her nest on day 19 and her eggs mostly cold. On day 21 one baby hatched and I moved her, thee remaining eggs and her baby to the brooder. It's day 24 now and she's still sitting on her eggs faithfully. Does she know something I don't? I'd candle the remaining five eggs but honestly, I've candled eggs in the past and was dead wrong on what was inside.

And I hate making a mistake. Should I relieve her of her brooding duties? I had a bantam hen brooding at the same time and she hatched 7 of 10 eggs. And amazing ratio for a bantam.

FYI, I have three roos mating with my standards. My alpha is sterile. My beta is a mixed breed and I think is fertilizing my hens. My bantam roo is quite the ladies man.
Could you candle the eggs and post pics here?
 
Could you candle the eggs and post pics here?
I candled them this morning, but I'm pretty sure they were never fertilized. You can feel the liquid sloshing around as you turn the egg over. There are two eggs that have such thick shells you can't see a thing. I'm not sure if these pictures are really blurry or if my eyes are are bad. Old age+out of date bifocals and I can't see a thing. BTW all the eggs were marked 4/14/21.
 

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I candled them this morning, but I'm pretty sure they were never fertilized. You can feel the liquid sloshing around as you turn the egg over. There are two eggs that have such thick shells you can't see a thing. I'm not sure if these pictures are really blurry or if my eyes are are bad. Old age+out of date bifocals and I can't see a thing. BTW all the eggs were marked 4/14/21.
Yes, they're unfertile. :(
 
Yes, they're unfertile. :(
Once again, my powers to candle leaves much to be desired. I pulled the eggs from her today, Day 26 and opened them. 3 of the 5 had chicks in them, all dead. It looks like two stopped developing around day 10 or 13. One on day 19. I apologized profusely to the young mother for taking her babies away. I feel so badly for her, she really was dedicated. Her surviving chick is thriving.
 

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