- Mar 14, 2011
- 11
- 0
- 22
Warning... nervous ramble ahead...
So first of all, I'm not even sure that it is day 21. I started counting from the first day the (Buff Orp) hen set on the nest and stayed there all day (the previous day she set for a few hours only), so not sure how accurate the day count is. Also not exactly sure that all the eggs she sat on are the original eggs because a few of the other hens (predictably) laid eggs on her clutch (12 eggs) before I had the good sense to mark them, around day 8 or so. All of a sudden, about day 12, I found a broken egg in the nest as a bossy prod. red hen was leaving it. I promptly moved broody to a dog kennel in a separately fenced area per info I've seen posted here, but left the door open so as not to freak her out. The next time I peeked in on her, I saw the same aggressive prod. red hen pecking under her and guessed that she had been eating the eggs! She had actually flown over both fences to get to the broody's nest. The count was down to 7 eggs.
So I kept the door closed from then on and the count stayed at 7. I will worry about the egg eater after this hatch is over! I candled the eggs a few times and although I never saw any veins, the dark spot inside has gotten bigger and floated on top when I rolled it slightly, so I figured they are developing. They have gotten heavier and feel... I dont' know how to describe it.... thicker? Like there is a baby chick in them! Maybe that's just me being anxious for babies.
No peeps, no pips, and I'm sooo ready to either see signs of hatching or get the eggtopsy over with to see what might have gone wrong. I should mention that the broody is a first timer as well. If you got this far, thank you for reading, and any words of advice, encouragement greatly appreciated.
So first of all, I'm not even sure that it is day 21. I started counting from the first day the (Buff Orp) hen set on the nest and stayed there all day (the previous day she set for a few hours only), so not sure how accurate the day count is. Also not exactly sure that all the eggs she sat on are the original eggs because a few of the other hens (predictably) laid eggs on her clutch (12 eggs) before I had the good sense to mark them, around day 8 or so. All of a sudden, about day 12, I found a broken egg in the nest as a bossy prod. red hen was leaving it. I promptly moved broody to a dog kennel in a separately fenced area per info I've seen posted here, but left the door open so as not to freak her out. The next time I peeked in on her, I saw the same aggressive prod. red hen pecking under her and guessed that she had been eating the eggs! She had actually flown over both fences to get to the broody's nest. The count was down to 7 eggs.

So I kept the door closed from then on and the count stayed at 7. I will worry about the egg eater after this hatch is over! I candled the eggs a few times and although I never saw any veins, the dark spot inside has gotten bigger and floated on top when I rolled it slightly, so I figured they are developing. They have gotten heavier and feel... I dont' know how to describe it.... thicker? Like there is a baby chick in them! Maybe that's just me being anxious for babies.
No peeps, no pips, and I'm sooo ready to either see signs of hatching or get the eggtopsy over with to see what might have gone wrong. I should mention that the broody is a first timer as well. If you got this far, thank you for reading, and any words of advice, encouragement greatly appreciated.