Eggs in nest Questions!

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876

You need to be darkness to candle effectively - or at least i do. It takes a little bit to train your eye to what you're looking for.

 

[secuono]

Thanks so much!

 

[secuono]

They are all clear from what I can tell. 7 eggs now, no idea what's going on, lol.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Something that i did to give my brain a base point with candling - is to start by candling an egg from the fridge (definitely not developed). Then i have a reference point. If the 7 day incubated eggs look just like a fridge egg when candled, then they're not developing.

ETA: There's not a LOT to see at 7 days. Sometimes, it helps to turn the egg, which causes the embryo to move and makes it easier to see. I just rotate the egg over the light, usually with the fat side down.

 

[secuono]

Well, I still don't know what the hen or hens are doing. I don't know if they lay just to lay or someone is trying to raise a family. No one really sits on them very long that I'm aware of.
I guess I will just let them do w/e and if they do hatch, I'll just bring them in. Wouldn't late October hatch be bad for the little chicks, even more so since they are bantam?

 

[PunkinPeep]

I don't know where you live, so i don't know if late October is cold for you. Though, i would personally always trust a broody hen to keep her babies warm.

That said, i just re-read this thread and wanted to make sure you understand about broodies.

There's really not much misunderstanding about whether a hen is broody. She will stay on the nest all the time, and she won't lay eggs. A hen with chicks is not likely to try to brood eggs either. She's too busy raising her chicks.

You could continue to leave the eggs in the nest and hope that someone goes broody, but as you said, it's a little late in the year.

If i were you, i would pitch the eggs that are there and start collecting the daily laid eggs for eating. Then if someone goes broody - and if they do, it won't matter if there are eggs there or not - then you can give them eggs to set and raise chicks.

I feel certain that the eggs you have there now are not going to hatch. It doesn't sound like anyone is setting on them. They're just laying their eggs and moving on. I could be wrong, but based on your description, that's my conclusion.

 

[secuono]

Someone is arranging the eggs and adding them. The nest is very well kept and there is a stain on one egg and I've noticed the egg seems to be turned. I don't know if it's only moved when a new egg is added or what though. The one day I went in while it was getting dark, there was a hen on them, but they don't like me too much, so I usually scare them.

 

[secuono]

8 eggs. The hen who had tiny chicks has lost her last chick, they seem to find tiny holes and I guess something scares them and they run off. Sucks, I will have to put more bird netting on the sides....
Maybe this will get her to set on them?

 

[DeniseBrislin]

Do chickens need a nest box to lay eggs? Will they lay more eggs with a next box?

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Assuming they use it, it makes the eggs easier to find. Some hens can be very secretive when laying eggs. They are, after all, hard work and meant for reproduction--she doesn't want some giant coming in and stealing them so she has to lay more.