Egg question ... and I have a possible broody

[Cavendish Chickens]

Okay, as some of you know I have a speckled sussex roo, a light brown leghorn, and (just found out) a white ROCK (was told by the guy we got her from she was a leghorn). Now, the white rock has laid (to our knowledge) 9 large brown eggs. The leghorn has laid 4 small white eggs. Today I went out to check for eggs and give them some strawberries. This is when I got one of the four small white eggs. Now, Gloria (the white rock) was no where to be seen. I couldn't find her anywhere. She didn't come out for the treat, and when I called to her I could hear faint gentle clucking, and scratching noises. But still couldn't find her. Eventually I finally found her.

She was between the nest box and the wall. She wouldn't come out. I called to her, talked to her, wiggled the nest box about a tenth of an inch away from her... still not coming out. I've read the posts on how to break a broody, and that's what we plan to do. Not exactly the time of year you want to have little baby chicks. Too cold. lol I don't know for definite if she is being broody, but it's my guess that she may be. We will be looking under her to see if there's an egg or not. We collect them as they are laid. This is the first time she's ever acted like this.

For future reference... Eggs that have been refrigerated are no longer hatch-able.... right? We may allow her to hatch eggs in the spring, but not right now.

But I want to make sure not to refrigerate any we plan to hatch if I'm right. Thanks everyone.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
You ask a hard question. Some people do get eggs that have been in the refrigerator to hatch. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you they absolutely, no way, will not ever hatch. What I will tell you is that the odds of them hatching decreases if they are refrigerated. How much those odds drop, I cannot tell you. Some spots in a refrigerator may be in the 30's but some other spots may be in the 40's.

The guidelines are guidelines, not absolute laws of nature. If you follow the guidelines, that increases the odds of the eggs hatching. If you violate the guidelines, that decreases the odds of you getting a good hatch. Perfectly following the guidelines does not guarantee a perfect hatch. Violating the guidelines does not guarantee a total disaster. I stored my eggs too warm last summer and still got 10 out of 12 to hatch. I'll take that. If I had stored them about 10 degrees cooler I may or may not have gotten 11 or 12 to hatch. I don't know for sure what would have happened.

I can't remember exactly what the recommended temperatures to store eggs are, I think in the 50's or 60's. If you are going to hatch eggs, I recommend to not refrigerate them to improve your odds of a good hatch.

 

[Cavendish Chickens]

Thank you Ridgerunner. (I was beginning to think no one was going to respond to my post.) Just to be on the safe side... I will follow those guidelines the best I can, and will not try to have refrigerated eggs be hatched. I appreciate your time and your answer.