EGGS ON OCTOBER?

[klondike24680]

Okay is this okay? I don't have a cage at the moment but this seems to me it could work. It may not seem totally spacey but hey it has enough room for food and water and a shoebox with hay in it. If she doesn't except it to bad then I'm gonna get rid of the eggs and put her in the coop at night. I'm gonna attempt to move her tomorrow when shes relieving herself. Oh and do the chicks have to eat chick starter.

 

[cochins1088]

Chicks can be fed a few different things, but chick starter would be the best. Thats what I feed my chicks. Today would be day 10 wouldn't it? How about you try to go candle the eggs again with the brightest flashlight you have. See if you can see anything. I'll attach a thread showing what day 10 should look like, just scroll down a bit. I might have linked this same thread earlier though. If you are unsure, take pictures of the candled egg and post them here and I will tell you if any are developing properly.

Your housing will work, normally a hen should have more room but it should be ok since she will only be in there for a week and a half. You might want to open it up once day to let her strech and use the bathroom.

Also, unless you are sure the eggs are dead, don't throw them. Do you have nesting boxes in the coop? You could make a nice nest and place her eggs in one of the boxes and see if she sit on them there. It's usually ok if she is with other chickens, just as long as she's got her own spot.

 

[cochins1088]

oops, here's the link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/candling-pics-progression-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs

 

[klondike24680]

I have such great news!!!!! Just candled one of the eggs and I saw Viens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! U won't believe how happy I am. I was highley doubtful that they were gonna hatch. But now its confirmed I wont get rid of one! Thank you cochins1088 for everything I will always remember you for guiding me through this. I mean I'm still gonna ask questions but still so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine how i'll be when the eggs hatch!!!!!! But one question what if pumpkin doesnt accept the eggs when i move her and them. how will I make her accept them

 

[cochins1088]

It's hard, some will and some won't. I've had good luck where they settled down right away, but I have also had horrible luck where they refuse to sit back down. If they refuse, I replace the eggs back where she originally was and hope for the best. Where is she anyways? Can she not stay where ever she is? I'm glad you do have at least one developing. They can survive some extreme circumstances and mother take great precauions to keep the little ones safe, never give up on an egg unless you are absolutely sure it has passed. I once had an egg with a 17 day old chick survive on the kitchen table for 3 days and 2 nights at room tempature. I couldn't believe it. Well now I have to get to work, it's midterms week at the college and BYC is wonderful at distracting me from my work, hahaha.

 

[klondike24680]

Okay Moved her- yes
Succefull- yes and no
Okay so I moved her and she kinda likes it. She kinda stopped sitting for ahwhile and i didnt notice but she went back to her old nesting spot. I mean she couldn't get to it because my dad and I blocked it up so I got her and put her in her new nesting spot and she sat. I felt the eggs and they werent cold but the werent warm either. will they still hatch? they were barley cold but they defintley werent warm, She currently sitting on all FOUR of them now. I felt she didnt feel secure so I got a board and blocked her up. But once again what chance do the eggs have hatching!? Heres a pic of her right now

 

[cochins1088]

Yes, the eggs will be fine. In fact, certain incubators tell you to leave it open for a few minutes each day to give the eggs a chance to cool down. Mother hens let their eggs cool while they are eating, drinking, streching, and going to the bathroom. And like I mentioned before, I had an egg survive 3 days on the kitchen table. There are also numerous stories on here in which eggs that felt ice cold still hacthed (broody abandoned nest dueing winter months).

 

[klondike24680]

Thank you I still have lots of hope. Now that we moved her I feel much better. tell me one a story of your first broody hen

 

[cochins1088]

Well my first time hatching eggs was with an incubator, but I did have a couple of broodies hatch out eggs. Cochin are annoying broody. I once had 20 nesting boxes in the coup for my 28 hens and every nesting box contained a broody hen or two. There was maybe 3 hens that weren't broody. It was nuts. I'm not supposed to let them stay broody because my parents and my parents are a bit unhappy with right now how many chickens I currently have (they don't want more chicks). It stated out as a 12 chicken flock but then I started hatching, and I just had to keep just a couple of chicks from every hatch. But there was a couple of times where I got away with it. Like, we went on vacation for 5 days and since they are cochins, they all got to keep their eggs for those days and they all turned broody. I choose 2 hens and put all of the eggs over the vactaion under them. (cochins don't lay very much) I told my parents how 5 days was a lot of development and that their hearts start beating once they are 2 days old, so I can't just kill them. So they agreed. hehehe. Twice, I simply claimed that the hen made a nest in a place that I had never looked before (very posible) and candled them saying, I can't kill them. And they let it go. I guess I don't have a real story, but I just love how the little ones (once they hatch) follow the mother hen everywhere. Everything that mom pecks, they have to peck. It's just so sweet. I usually hatch in the incuabotor on the few oppurtunities that they allow it, (usually meaning I have to sell all or most of the chicks) I love the hands on experience of incubating them myself. It's a lot of work (depending on the incubator) but it's so rewarding. Right now, I'm ordering some silver laced cochin bantam hatching eggs to hatch. I'm so excited for these chickens, but in order for my parents to allow me to get them, I have to sell a bunch of my current chickens... but it's not that bad. I have my favorites, and then I have well, the other chcikens (but I still love them). This is much longer than I thought it'd be, ohh well.

Wait! I do have kinda a story. I was so excited for this one broody hen, she was on like day 15. One night I went down and 2 of the eggs were missing, I was disappointed and I didn't know what happened, but I brushed it off. The next night, all 6 remaining eggs were gone. Broody was still there looking like she was incubating, but there was nothing underneath. I couldn't believe it. They wasn't any egg shells or anything in the coop, our chickens aren't egg eaters, there was a mess where an egg may have eben opened or smashed. They were just gone. I was pretty bummed being that they got the far and then vanished. Like a week later, I saw an empty feed bag in front of the coop door (the coop is inside the barn) and it had 8 broken egg shells that had been licked clean. I'm not sure, but I think an animal may have gotten them, but eggs never disappeared again and the mother hen would have fought to protect her eggs. I just don't know what happened.

 

[klondike24680]

Great story thanks for sharing. Just candeled all my eggs and so far yes only one is developing, although i did see a little vein on egg letter c. Can't show any pics right now ( because it never showed up when I take pics). Since they are due on the day before halloween ( AKA the day I get braces) what names would you suggest?