First time with a broody hen, question on day 20....

[mando4mary74]

I have a broody hen who has been on the nest for around 20 days. She has 2 eggs, one at the 20 day mark and one at around 19 days. My question is, I candled the 20 day egg today while she was relieving herself...I could see the chick moving around inside, but, heard no chirping...Is everything normal? I didn't see any cracks on the egg either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[AutumnZ]

I have a broody hen who has been on the nest for around 20 days. She has 2 eggs, one at the 20 day mark and one at around 19 days. My question is, I candled the 20 day egg today while she was relieving herself...I could see the chick moving around inside, but, heard no chirping...Is everything normal? I didn't see any cracks on the egg either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[AutumnZ]

Noise mean that it is going to hatch soon

 

[AutumnZ]

But no noise means it will still be hatch soon if the chick is still alive

 

[mando4mary74]

But no noise means it will still be hatch soon if the chick is still alive

Awesome, thanks..I can definitely see it moving around inside the egg. The air sac is bigger than before too. I guess I better be watching ha ha!

 

[AutumnZ]

Np

 

[AutumnZ]

Have fun

 

[Shadrach]

I have a broody hen who has been on the nest for around 20 days. She has 2 eggs, one at the 20 day mark and one at around 19 days. My question is, I candled the 20 day egg today while she was relieving herself...I could see the chick moving around inside, but, heard no chirping...Is everything normal? I didn't see any cracks on the egg either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You should not disturb the eggs for the first 3 days or the last three days.
If you position the eggs incorrectly during the last three days the chick may not be the right way up for hatching.
As a rule, let the hen do her job and leave the eggs alone.

 

[AutumnZ]

♡♡♡

 

[Jbently28]

Movement is always a good sign. A couple of days before hatching the air cell will start to dip down dramatically on one side. This is when he ou can usually see the egg start to rock back and forth as the chick positions itself for hatching. The chick usually has about 24-48 hours left to hatch once you see it enter the air cell (internally pip). You can see this by candling and you will notice a little beak poking up and down, usually at the lowest point of the air cell. This is generally where they will externally pip. Once they internally pip, they will take a long break. During this break they will practice they're breathing and absorb the yolks. This break can take up to 24 hours. During this time you may hear them chirping. After this break, they will externally pip. You may see the chick's beak making a chewing motion. This means that they are still absorbing the yolk. They will again take a long break. After this break they will start zipping, or finish breaking through their shell. This is the fastest phase. I've had chicks hatch just 10 minutes after starting to zip. But under any circumstances DO NOT assist the chick in hatching unless you feel as though something has gone wrong. And even then, do not assist them until you come back and ask for the correct way to assist. Some chicks just take longer to hatch, but some do have problems.
You may or may not already know all of this, but I figured I'd just throw it out there just in case. And I wouldn't disturb mama or the egg for the next couple of days.