Hatching experiment...update post #20

[BarkerChickens]

Alrighty...I gave her 5 eggs from the fridge (~2-3 weeks old) and 6 Wazine eggs (all from today or yesterday...not older). She was sitting on a couple already, so I just stuck the rest under her. I will be happy with 1-2 chicks, but hopefully it will be even better than that!! This is her first time, but she has been in that next for a good couple weeks and won't leave...as hard as we tried. I will try to candle them in 10 days and reduce the eggs as needed.

 

[RAREROO]

During the summer when I tried it with a few batches, I got better hatches on the refrigerated eggs that than the ones not in the fridge.

 

[BarkerChickens]

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While I will assume that is not always the case, you give me great hope Rareroo!! Thanks!!!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

I've thought about doing an experiment with different variables:

Shaken vs. Non (for various time frames and intensities)
Refridgerated vs. Non (for various time frames, temps)
"Old" eggs vs. Fresh Eggs

 

[BarkerChickens]

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It'd be neat to have a thread of peoples results, so we can establish a"percent successful hatch" for each group. However, in case mine aren't developing after 10 days, I have a back up of getting mutt eggs from Debiraymond. Backups are always a good thing! Then, maybe it'd be a 3 wk post-wazine vs Debi's eggs experiment.

Meanwhile, I am going to hope that my eggs hatch.

 

[BarkerChickens]

For anyone interested....

I candlled (er...flashlighted?

) them today (day 4...almost 5). There are 5 fridge eggs and 7 wazine eggs. The 5 fridge eggs don't seem to be developing. Of the 7 wazine eggs, 5 are for sure developing and the other two possibly, it was hard to tell. One of the wazine eggs is about 12-18 hours younger than the rest. We thought a jersey giant laid a large egg and added it to the broody's nest. It was large, but nothing extraordinarily large. Well, when I candled today it is a double yolker. Couldn't see veining yet, but given it is a few hours younger I'm not ruling it out. Since it is early on and I'm not experienced, all eggs will remain under the broody for about another week before tossing them. I hope that at least 2 hatch!

 

[debilorrah]

I candled mine and they are all brown and hard to see anything. The green one I couldn't even get the light through the shell!!!!

 

[BarkerChickens]

My green one looks porous on one end and it was a fridge egg, so I have very low hope for it.

The bummer is that it is the only EE egg I have right now, since all 3 of my EEs are molting right now (and stop laying for winter completely). I won't get another EE egg until March probably. Oh well...next hatch.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
My EE goes on strike for 6 months every year. Frustrating.

 

[BarkerChickens]

On Friday, we carefully moved her and her eggs to the brooder coop. She wasn't too happy, but we locked her in there and she sat on the eggs. The next day, she was off her eggs and wandering around, so we locked her in again. I was gone over the weekend, but DH said by Saturday afternoon she wouldn't stay on the eggs and they were getting cold, so he opened the coop up. She went to the big coop and claimed 3 new eggs. Hoping to help her, he moved her and her new eggs to the brooder coop. She didn't like it. She is now completely broke and sleeps in the roosts with the rest of the chickens.

Apparently, to break a broody, you put her in the brooder coop.