Eggs Won't Hatch

[Wild Thing 707]

So I've never had broody hens before. Every year my family has just bought new chickens without thinking about raising our own. Last year, we got some silkies and Welsumers. I expected our silkie hens to get broody at some point, but it turned out that one of our Welsumer hens did! I kept a few eggs under Rainbow Dash to see if they would actually hatch. After a month and a half, we had no luck. I knew that there was something inside of those eggs, so I decided to open them. All of them had an almost fully formed chick inside, but every one had been long dead. After Rainbow Dash lost hope, our other Welsumer got broody too! I left a few eggs under her. I'm not sure how many weeks she's been on them, but it's for sure more than three weeks. I opened one egg up, and sure enough, there's a dead, almost fully formed chick inside. I left the other eggs under her just in case they were still alive. Today I decided to open another one, but this chick was alive! I don't know how it's been there alive for at least five weeks, but the poor thing was still living. Sadly, it stopped moving after I took it out of the egg. I'm afraid to open the others. How can I tell if these stubborn chicks are alive and why won't they hatch? The dead babies looked like they were ready to hatch, but they just...didn't.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

The live one is what has me stumped. Generally dead, fully formed chicks are a sign of genetic weakness.... Howsabout you listen to those eggs? Peeps are good indicators. Feel them, see if anything is moving inside.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I do not know your set-up, Is your hen setting in a private pen or in a nest with the others----if the later----did you mark the eggs and put them all under your hen on the same day and check under her and remove fresh layed(unmarked) eggs daily? Really need more info so we can try and help.

 

[Wild Thing 707]

She's with the other hens. No, I didn't mark them because I honestly didn't think our one-legged silkie rooster could get the girls! I have been candling the eggs with a flashlight though and regularly taking out any eggs that didn't have chicks in them. Don't worry, I know which eggs belong to my wanna-be mommy.

 

[Wild Thing 707]

I've tried listening to the eggs, but I can never hear anything.

 

[Chickassan]

Fyi, a one legged rooster can still wango tango.Have you tried gently tapping the eggs even clucking at them sometimes will work up a chick.

 

[Pyxis]

Since she's in with other hens and you didn't block the nest, other hens are laying underneath her. That's why there was a live chick in her egg five weeks after she first started sitting - the egg wasn't five weeks old, it was a fresher one that had been laid underneath her after she first started setting.



If you didn't think the rooster was fertilizing your eggs, where have you been getting the eggs that you were giving to the broodies?