Eggs didn't hatch; will mama grieve? :(

[Lucy4]

My three year old BO is constantly going broody, so we finally have in and got some fertile eggs from a friend's farm for her to set on. We candled them at day 12; all looked well with 5 eggs, so we hoped for some babies Friday. Nothing. I am going to give it til tomorrow morning and then dispose of the eggs. But man, Rosie is a serious mama. If feel badly. If there was someone with chicks around here, I'd buy them. But the inquiries made were fruitless.

Do hens bounce back when this happens? My kids are so upset that I'm not sure I'd let her try again. And I have no idea what happened. She was ALWAYS on them, to the point I had to take her off for 5 minutes a day so she'd poop eat and drink a bit.

Anyway, if you folks know how to transition her, let me know. Thanks.

 

[Life is Good!]

Before you chuck the whole bunch of eggs, try candling them, if you can get them from under her. Depending on your outdoor temps, they may be a day or so off.....

You can also do the 'float' test to see if the eggs are viable. But in doing so, one egg of my broody's clutch that wasn't viable was sitting in the water like it was....and one that shouldn't have been viable OBVIOUSLY is when candled...so be careful when testing with these methods.

 

[Lucy4]

Thank you for your input. I'm not familiar with the float test. If the eggs are viable, how should they be sitting in the water?

Thank you again.

 

[Life is Good!]

At the top of the page is a 'search discussions, reviews, articles & more!' box - type in 'float test' there and a whole bunch of posts will be listed (think google search or ask.com search). But this is the one I was referencing:

Float test link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ng-egg-viability-for-late-or-overdue-hatching

 

[Lucy4]

Wow, how interesting. Thanks so much for the link and info!

 

[mille fluer]

i think she be sad because the eggs did hatch but i think she would be ok.