First broody!

[SmiYa0126]

Thanks, she has been leaving once a day, for about an hour and a half, to eat, drink walk around and dust bathe. I thought maybe it should be more. This morning, I tried to entice her on the nest with a few meal worms, since she has been missing morning treat time, no interest. That worried me a bit, so I will watch more carefully to make sure she is getting enough off nest time.

Wow! What a smart girl, mine was starving herself, her poo was that bright green when they don't eat enough, and that was only after three days, plus she gained so much weight...I was starting to think she was a glutton but she was getting ready to be broody.

 

[MJWarner]

Wow! What a smart girl, mine was starving herself, her poo was that bright green when they don't eat enough, and that was only after three days, plus she gained so much weight...I was starting to think she was a glutton but she was getting ready to be broody.

I didn't notice Mary showing any strange behaviors before going broody, but odd to me, she is a lavender orpington, and has always been a light washed out lavender color... until about a week before she started broody. At that time, she changed, over about 2-3days, from lavender to a washed out light parchment tan. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, which is why I was watching her, because I thought it might be a sign of illness, or from the heat. Now I wonder if hormones can trigger a minor color change in feathers, but don't have a clue where I might find that answer, lol.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I didn't notice Mary showing any strange behaviors before going broody, but odd to me, she is a lavender orpington, and has always been a light washed out lavender color... until about a week before she started broody. At that time, she changed, over about 2-3days, from lavender to a washed out light parchment tan. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, which is why I was watching her, because I thought it might be a sign of illness, or from the heat. Now I wonder if hormones can trigger a minor color change in feathers, but don't have a clue where I might find that answer, lol.

So interesting!

 

[MJWarner]

Well, I candled today, day 9, and even though I watched over 10 videos on how, what to look for, all those tips are apparently beyond my skill level, which is quite obviously lacking. I did discover 5 or 6 that were actually moving around and visible, many shells were too thick or too dark to view. I used a powerful COAST pocket led, cupped my hand around the escaping light, and even threw a large heavy towel over me, like like an old-time photographer, I got a lot of "who knows" and "maybe yes-maybe no", plus a few shoulder shrugs. There were 3 that I removed, due to nothing at all inside, just translucent nothingness. I hope I didn't kill off any of the babes doing that.
I came away running to order the BrinSea ovascope viewer, and that should be here for checking on day 14. That's my version of, if I can't do something, throw more money at it. LOL.
Mary is a treasure, probably the only reason for any success in this hatching adventure. She has this internal clock... around 11 am every day, she hops off, does her business of eating, drinking and basic self care, then after a 1/2 hour to an hour and a half, settles herself in and goes all trance-like.
I'm just an inefficient observer in this, Mary deserves all the credit.

 

[NatJ]

Well, I candled today, day 9, and even though I watched over 10 videos on how, what to look for, all those tips are apparently beyond my skill level, which is quite obviously lacking. I did discover 5 or 6 that were actually moving around and visible, many shells were too thick or too dark to view. I used a powerful COAST pocket led, cupped my hand around the escaping light, and even threw a large heavy towel over me, like like an old-time photographer, I got a lot of "who knows" and "maybe yes-maybe no", plus a few shoulder shrugs.

Were you in a really dark place?
It can help to candle after dark, or carry the eggs into the house and candle in a closet or bathroom that has no window, with the door closed.

There were 3 that I removed, due to nothing at all inside, just translucent nothingness. I hope I didn't kill off any of the babes doing that.

If you crack those eggs and look at what was inside, you will know.

Cracking the empties always makes me feel better-- I can tell there really was NO chick in there. And if I ever crack one and find a chick, I would put the others back and work to improve my candling skills. (That hasn't happened to me yet.)

Mary is a treasure, probably the only reason for any success in this hatching adventure. She has this internal clock... around 11 am every day, she hops off, does her business of eating, drinking and basic self care, then after a 1/2 hour to an hour and a half, settles herself in and goes all trance-like.

It's nice to have your first broody manage things so well

 

[MJWarner]

Were you in a really dark place?
It can help to candle after dark, or carry the eggs into the house and candle in a closet or bathroom that has no window, with the door closed.


If you crack those eggs and look at what was inside, you will know.

Cracking the empties always makes me feel better-- I can tell there really was NO chick in there. And if I ever crack one and find a chick, I would put the others back and work to improve my candling skills. (That hasn't happened to me yet.)


It's nice to have your first broody manage things so well

It isn't overly bright in the coop, but it was midday, and there are windows, which is why I covered myself inside the nesting box with the dark thick towel over top. That didn't remove all of the light, but I would have had a few problems reading a menu dark.
I'm kinda afraid to try and candle after full dark, especially if I would need to remove her eggs, as I wouldn't want to upset Mary, or Lord forbid, break her broodiness. To get them all candled, I'm going to need to place each one in a plastic pan, or basket, so as to not miss one, or find I counted 15, but seven times I counted the same egg.
When I get my ovascope, if I don't get 100% assurance, I will have to suck it up and go for the nighttime method. I can mark the good ones at the midday candling, and get a count of the ones I still need to verify.
I need to learn on this first go, so my next hatching won't be so ordeal-ish.
Your tips really help, thanks Nat J, because otherwise I feel as though I'm flying by instrument when I've never sat in a pilot's seat.

 

[NatJ]

I'm kinda afraid to try and candle after full dark, especially if I would need to remove her eggs, as I wouldn't want to upset Mary, or Lord forbid, break her broodiness. To get them all candled, I'm going to need to place each one in a plastic pan, or basket, so as to not miss one, or find I counted 15, but seven times I counted the same egg.

I do not think you will break her broodiness, or upset her too much, if you take the eggs one by one, candle each one, place them in a basket, and then give them back at the end. I could be wrong, since chickens are individuals, but I think it would not affect most hens too badly.

But as a first choice, I would take all the eggs into the house during the daytime, while she is off the nest o have her meal. Put them back in the nest after you are done candling. Just closing the curtains on the windows will not make a room dark enough for me to candle easily, but many houses have some kind of windowless room-- it might be a bathroom or a closet or a utility room in the basement or something of the sort.

In the daytime, if I don't catch a hen at her meal break, I have sometimes taken half the eggs into the house to candle them. Then I come back and switch eggs, so I can candle the other half of them. The hen stays content enough, because she still has plenty of eggs to sit on each time.

I can mark the good ones at the midday candling, and get a count of the ones I still need to verify.

Yes, that is a good idea. For the ones you know are developing well, there is no need to do anything more complicated with them.

I need to learn on this first go, so my next hatching won't be so ordeal-ish.
Your tips really help, thanks Nat J, because otherwise I feel as though I'm flying by instrument when I've never sat in a pilot's seat.

Yes, it can be hard when you are trying to learn everything at once!

 

[MJWarner]

Normally, I am a person who would bristle at even the thought of needing to have "my hand held" to learn new skills, or travel outside my known comfort zone. But I can not state how wonderful the members of this forum are, how reassuring and comforting it is to know that I have mentors right here, who will take time and patiently counsel my unknown fears and lack of experience. THANK YOU.

 

[MJWarner]

Well, the drama never ends. When Mary left her nest this morning, I ran out with the newly arrived ovascope to candle all her eggs. I found our barred rock, Rosemund, in Mary's nest, so I reached in, extracted her, and put her into another nest. Apparently, as I lifted her out, one of her claws poked an almost dime-sized hole into one of the ameracana eggs in the nest. Ugh. I picked it up, and was relieved to see that the membrane was totally fine, but was there a viable baby chick inside? I stuck it into the ovascope, and yes! I saw movement and development. Now to rush to give it a chance, even a tiny chance, to live and hatch. I rushed inside and used scotch tape to reseal the hole as best as I could, probably five pieces to prevent the air from reaching the membrane in that spot and drying the fluid the chick needs. I returned the scotch tape egg to the nest, nestling in the middle of the bunch, just as Mary came back to settle in. I'm not overly confident, but I'm hopeful.

 

[WIchickMama]

Good luck, I hope the tape holds on! When are they due to hatch?