Fertilized eggs still viable?

[fireflew]

I just lost my best brooder to a Hawk, ( I have now been stepping up security) I have two small bantams sitting on nests and I candled her eggs and split the fertilized up between the two of them. Two chicks were born already but that was days ago. I have many hens and the eggs appear to be from several different mothers, I don't know if that's something chickens do, give their eggs to another broody chicken when they aren't going to sit on it... That's besides the point, excepting that the eggs do seem to be at various stages of development when my brooders haven't likely been mated with for weeks as they've been holed up on the nest . when I candled I looked for the red bullseye to see if there were quitters, there was one egg where I could see something floating more loosely inside, but most of them are all dark. I can just barely see the air pocket. I marked those eggs since till now I haven't been tracking time at all. My question is how long do I wait till I can assume these eggs won't hatch? Do I need to worry about them exploding, does that happen often? Any advice would be appreciated I'm brand new to this. Also, it's summer but some nights are cool and since two chicks were born that mother is occasionally off the nest, I know this can sometimes just slow development, plus they probably each have a few eggs too many, do the rest of these eggs stand a chance?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Okay...you've got a staggered set which makes it very difficult to judge things.

A hen may remain fertile after mating for up to 30 days (in rare cases sometimes longer). Typically, she is most fertile up to 14 days after mating.

An egg set should hatch within 21 days, give or take a day, if they were kept at proper temperature.

Since you've set eggs at different times (by will of brooding hens), it will be very difficult to figure out hatch dates.

The best you can do is to place those eggs that look to be the most advanced after candling together, then place those eggs that show some development together.

Pull those that look clear or to be quitters.

Good luck with your final hatches. Sorry to hear of the hawk loss. Yes, that is something I too have to be vigilant about.

LofMc

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hens are most fertile within 5-7 days of the last service by a rooster.
On the other hand a turkey hen only needs one trisk in order to lay a full clutch of fertile eggs.

That plus the fact that today's commercial tom turkeys have a hard time successfully breeding is the reason that today most turkeys are bred via AI or artificial insemination.

When eggs are properly stored you can get away with setting eggs that are up to about 2 weeks old. You need to expect a lower hatch rate after 7 days but after 3 weeks forget about getting an egg to hatch.

Trying to hatch a 3 week old egg is not worth the wear and tear on your hens backside. Or for that matter the electric bill for the artificial incubator.

Remember when setting eggs to not count off the days until the eggs have been incubated for 24 hours or the first day has passed. Only then has a day elapsed. So at the beginning of day two say ONE.

Staggered hatching is a perfect way to get fed up with raising chickens and end up saying "The heck with this"

 

[fireflew]

Another chick hatched yesterday morning, the hen sitting on it was pecking at it, so I moved it to the calmer brooders nest, when I checked at the end of the day it seemed fine, but this morning it was dead. Along with another egg that was zippered and appeared soggy and shell-less, with the chick still inside. I'm concerned these two broody hens could be making my other hens broody, is that possible? Because today I came out to three chickens trying to sit on eggs. They don't know when they are fertilized, do they? How many days should I wait to candle to see of they're fertilized? I've been researching all this, but I'm curious to hear what experienced people have to say, if there's anything about my situation that causes some variables.

 

[fireflew]

Hens are most fertile within 5-7 days of the last service by a rooster.
On the other hand a turkey hen only needs one trisk in order to lay a full clutch of fertile eggs.

That plus the fact that today's commercial tom turkeys have a hard time successfully breeding is the reason that today most turkeys are bred via AI or artificial insemination.

When eggs are properly stored you can get away with setting eggs that are up to about 2 weeks old. You need to expect a lower hatch rate after 7 days but after 3 weeks forget about getting an egg to hatch.

Trying to hatch a 3 week old egg is not worth the wear and tear on your hens backside. Or for that matter the electric bill for the artificial incubator.

Remember when setting eggs to not count off the days until the eggs have been incubated for 24 hours or the first day has passed. Only then has a day elapsed. So at the beginning of day two say ONE.

Staggered hatching is a perfect way to get fed up with raising chickens and end up saying "The heck with this"

I have backyard chickens, does the 3 week rule still apply?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Another chick hatched yesterday morning, the hen sitting on it was pecking at it, so I moved it to the calmer brooders nest, when I checked at the end of the day it seemed fine, but this morning it was dead. Along with another egg that was zippered and appeared soggy and shell-less, with the chick still inside. I'm concerned these two broody hens could be making my other hens broody, is that possible? Because today I came out to three chickens trying to sit on eggs. They don't know when they are fertilized, do they? How many days should I wait to candle to see of they're fertilized? I've been researching all this, but I'm curious to hear what experienced people have to say, if there's anything about my situation that causes some variables.

If you have a rooster, and he is healthy and active, and you have a good hen ratio (around 10 hens to 1 rooster), chances are all your eggs are fertile if he is clearly making the rounds.

A hen has a small pouch in her upper egg tract that stores sperm which is why one mating will cover a hen for several weeks. Once that store is depleted or the sperm have died due to age, she needs to be re-mated. That is why it is best to use eggs about 2 to 14 days after mating. (It takes about 24 hours for the eggs to become fertile...those too far down the egg tract won't have received sperm).

Once an egg is fertilized, it is fertile. However, it is most hatch-able for about 7 days after being laid. After that, the DNA in the blastoderm (the fertilized DNA spot on the yolk) degrades, and it becomes less likely to hatch. You loose about 50% hatchability of fertile eggs after day 14. Beyond that, it is very unlikely to hatch as the DNA is simply to old. (Actually, the embryo is in a stasis...the beginning growth is spurred at laying from 106 degrees heat of the hen's body...then after laying the egg cools, vacuum packs in the shrinking membrane creating the air cell, and remains in stasis until being brought to 100 degree temperature again and held at that for 24 hours. At that point the embryo begins to grow again. It can be interrupted and slowed with cooling temps. If too cool, or hot, it dies.)

A broody hen has no idea if her eggs are fertile or not. She sits if she wants to set. Many will sit days on end on golf balls.

As to your variability, I see a number of things you could improve.

I would strongly suggest coordinating your brooding hens to no longer allow them to collect eggs day to day as they are brooding.

You should collect all eggs and set only the eggs you want hatched at one time. Do not let a hen gather at will while she is sitting nor others to add to her clutch later. You get very staggered hatches with very poor results in both chick health and hen behavior.

That means daily pulling eggs out from under brooding hens if they are still in the main nest...typically checking twice a day. Do not let the hens sit on eggs that they gather day to day.

I also highly recommend isolating your brooding hens, even from each other, to prevent the coming and going of other hens pushing your broody around exposing eggs to varying temperatures. This also reduces competition between brooding hens who will try to steal each other eggs and chicks or peck at the others eggs or chicks.

Once gathered, store the eggs at cool room temperature in an egg carton pointy side down. Tip the carton slightly and rotate the edge tipped daily. Be sure to note when the eggs were laid rotating out any that become 8 days old.

When your stored eggs are a number you want to set, mark the eggs with sharpie (any mark will do but I use date set), then set all the marked eggs at the same time under one brooding hen removing any other eggs laid by other hens she might have under her. (Keeping the hen out of the main coop helps with this).

All eggs must be set at the same time to avoid these overly long and staggered hatchings.

Can one brooding hen encourage others to do so. Yes, it does seem to do that in lines that are prone to brooding. However, hens also want to sit where another one is sitting in dog pile fashion...they follow each other that way. So it doesn't mean they are necessarily brooding, just creating havoc for the brooding hen.

My recommendations.
LofMc

 

[fireflew]

If you have a rooster, and he is healthy and active, and you have a good hen ratio (around 10 hens to 1 rooster), chances are all your eggs are fertile if he is clearly making the rounds.

A hen has a small pouch in her upper egg tract that stores sperm which is why one mating will cover a hen for several weeks. Once that store is depleted or the sperm have died due to age, she needs to be re-mated. That is why it is best to use eggs about 2 to 14 days after mating. (It takes about 24 hours for the eggs to become fertile...those too far down the egg tract won't have received sperm).

Once an egg is fertilized, it is fertile. However, it is most hatch-able for about 7 days after being laid. After that, the DNA in the blastoderm (the fertilized DNA spot on the yolk) degrades, and it becomes less likely to hatch. You loose about 50% hatchability of fertile eggs after day 14. Beyond that, it is very unlikely to hatch as the DNA is simply to old. (Actually, the embryo is in a stasis...the beginning growth is spurred at laying from 106 degrees heat of the hen's body...then after laying the egg cools, vacuum packs in the shrinking membrane creating the air cell, and remains in stasis until being brought to 100 degree temperature again and held at that for 24 hours. At that point the embryo begins to grow again. It can be interrupted and slowed with cooling temps. If too cool, or hot, it dies.)

A broody hen has no idea if her eggs are fertile or not. She sits if she wants to set. Many will sit days on end on golf balls.

As to your variability, I see a number of things you could improve.

I would strongly suggest coordinating your brooding hens to no longer allow them to collect eggs day to day as they are brooding.

You should collect all eggs and set only the eggs you want hatched at one time. Do not let a hen gather at will while she is sitting nor others to add to her clutch later. You get very staggered hatches with very poor results in both chick health and hen behavior.

That means daily pulling eggs out from under brooding hens if they are still in the main nest...typically checking twice a day. Do not let the hens sit on eggs that they gather day to day.

I also highly recommend isolating your brooding hens, even from each other, to prevent the coming and going of other hens pushing your broody around exposing eggs to varying temperatures. This also reduces competition between brooding hens who will try to steal each other eggs and chicks or peck at the others eggs or chicks.

Once gathered, store the eggs at cool room temperature in an egg carton pointy side down. Tip the carton slightly and rotate the edge tipped daily. Be sure to note when the eggs were laid rotating out any that become 8 days old.

When your stored eggs are a number you want to set, mark the eggs with sharpie (any mark will do but I use date set), then set all the marked eggs at the same time under one brooding hen removing any other eggs laid by other hens she might have under her. (Keeping the hen out of the main coop helps with this).

All eggs must be set at the same time to avoid these overly long and staggered hatchings.

Can one brooding hen encourage others to do so. Yes, it does seem to do that in lines that are prone to brooding. However, hens also want to sit where another one is sitting in dog pile fashion...they follow each other that way. So it doesn't mean they are necessarily brooding, just creating havoc for the brooding hen.

My recommendations.
LofMc

 

[fireflew]

Thank you SO much that's a lot of great information.