Hatching Natural eggs

[jessvolvochick]

I have two problems one is about the eggs and one is about the hens

So I do natural hatching two broody hens side by side with 8 eggs each on day 1 and plenty of other egg boxes to use but today I had 3 stomped on eggs and dead chicks because for batch 4 it’s day 18 I’m so sad. How do I fix this I didn’t want to incubate but wanted to do natural hatching and this is batch number 4 and 5 batch 5 is on day 5 so none stood on yet. I always lose a few around this day for some reason.

Second problem the ones that got stood on as I number them two days ago all had dark jiggly egg white as I rotate the egg around and chick wasn’t really moving but dark water was moving so not sure if the hens knew the chicks had died.
The last 4 eggs are very dark and no dark watery moving around inside and I always leave them in “egg coop lockdown” from today.

Extra question last time on day 21 one chick started to pip right as I was locking them up for the night (2 had already hatched fine that day) so I left it to hatch naturally well in the morning it had zipped and died in the egg. What did I do wrong?
Photo of last two chicks that hatched

 

[Lady of McCamley]

For the best broody hatches never mix ages of eggs. Always mark and set all eggs at the same time, keeping broody hens designated, and best each separated in an isolated box only that hen has access to with food and water nearby.

I have main cooped hatched with mixed sets and multiple hens, but you will always have some stomping losses, or stolen eggs, or eggs rolled out and chilled as hens typically compete. That's why if you want to assure no to little loss, create an isolation hutch for each hen. I typically have 90 to 100 percent hatches then.

As to death during late hatch, there are so many reasons. Failure to thrive, chilled as mom attended to the already hatched, shrink wrapped, etc. It's not unusual and other than setting all eggs at the same time and giving the hen her necessary space and isolation, there is little you can do.

It's the nature of broody hatching. Some years go super well, others not so much. Don't beat yourself up over it. You can attempt to rescue with a back up incubator and introduce later, but that can causes issues too at reintroduction. It's why the big boys go to artificial brooding and hatching to temp and environment control hatches to lower losses, but even they will have some loss. I much prefer the natural broody process as I get stronger chicks and flock in the long run.

My thoughts
LofMc

 

[Ridgerunner]

Many people seem to be able to have multiple broodies in different nests on separate schedules in the same coop, but I have had issues with that. When the chicks started internal pip (they start peeping then) one hen tried to take over the hatch, half of the eggs were destroyed in that fight. Since then I never have two separate broody hens with access to each other's nests. If a second hen goes broody I put her in the broody buster and break her from being broody. With this happening to you on day 18 I wonder if this is what is going on.

How thick are the eggshells? When hens are entering a nest to lay an egg or leaving after laying an egg they often walk on any eggs there. If the eggshells are normal thickness this is no problem but if they are too thin they can break. That usually looks like a claw punched a hole in the egg but it can be a lot worse. If this only happens on day 18 then this is not your problem.

Second problem the ones that got stood on as I number them two days ago all had dark jiggly egg white as I rotate the egg around and chick wasn’t really moving but dark water was moving so not sure if the hens knew the chicks had died.
The last 4 eggs are very dark and no dark watery moving around inside and I always leave them in “egg coop lockdown” from today.

I never candle eggs under a broody hen. I generally leave all of my eggs in the nest until the hatch is over. Some never start to develop, some have chicks that died at various stages of development. My hens do not kick out defective eggs during incubation and they do not open defective eggs during incubation. I read about this stuff on here a lot. I'm sure some people are seeing stuff but I just don't understand it. I think something else is going on other than a hen rejecting a defective egg.

Extra question last time on day 21 one chick started to pip right as I was locking them up for the night (2 had already hatched fine that day) so I left it to hatch naturally well in the morning it had zipped and died in the egg. What did I do wrong?

Probably nothing. If you deal with living animals you occasionally have to deal with dead animals. That's just the way life works.