Eggs Going Missing & Good Ones Are Too Dark To Candle !!

[mrszlopez]

My mixed breed hen was sitting on 11 eggs. Today, I go to grab one to candle quickly & there's only 7 left. They shouldve been hatching any day now & i dont hear any sloshing inside the eggs. Not to mention theyve gotta weigh at leas a pound each !!! But i dont know if mama hen is eating them, or one of the others is eating them.. This is the second time this has happened with her. Except last time, there were no eggs left. Also, i cant seem to candle these eggs. The shells are so thick & they are a dark dark brown color. How do i know if the babies inside are still alive or ready to come out ? She shouldv had them by now...

 

[debilorrah]

She could be kicking out the ones she knows are bad. And candling dark eggs is a crapshoot. Sometimes you can see and cometimes you can;t. The darker the egg the harder to tell. How long has she been sitting on them?

 

[mrszlopez]

lol i found out about that crapshoot the hard way.. but ill say shes been on them for at least 2-3 weeks. she had a nest once before & she ate them all.. im hoping that she is just weeding out the bad ones.