Hatching under a Hen

HennyPennies2007

Crowing
15 Years
Jan 26, 2008
1,722
2
284
Hey all

My silver duckwing OEG went broody last weekend. She had already quit laying her own eggs so I popped 8 of my BO, BR, RIR, eggs under her. One got broken since I had not moved her to a safe spot and there was a brawl over the nest. I have 21 hens per 1 very amorous rooster. (brownchickenbrowncow). I figured out of 8, maybe I would get 3 or 4...would that be a reasonable guess? Today I candled them, and like an idiot I picked some of the darkest egss I had to give her. I do notice they are darker to the pointy end and the air sac is visible at the larger end. I thought I might have seen veins in a couple, but wasn't really sure. Then I have a couple that have a dark spot in them but they are really watery, and you can see the spot floating freely in the egg. Can anyone help me to know what I'm looking at? I have used the search and found some stuff, but nothing makes it concrete. Poor Mrs. Squeaky. I have never seen anything so devoted. I wish at least ONE would hatch. If none of them hatch will she be distressed? Will she know when the 21 days are up to return to civilian life or will I have to work at getting her back to normal? She is the sweetest thing, and I love her dearly. Can I just not candle them and see what turns up? I know I have to check that they aren't oozing and I don't want any to explode in my freshly cleaned coop! If anyone has any ideas, let me know? Thanks!
 
The dark spot you see "floting freely" could be the chick swimming around. I have RIR eggs, and they can be hard to see in. I had to wait till day 10 to really be able to tell for sure. In mine if I held the egg really still and shined the light down through the air cell I could see the chick move.

If none of the eggs hatch, you could get day old chicks to slip under her, if you really want her to have some. She might snap out of if on her own, but I have read thay many don't.

Good luck!
 
Sounds like your eggs are good. In dark eggs I look for the air sac to be developing.
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The air sac is a good sign. My husband didn't understand the candling process in eggs so I showed him. I told him to watch the "floating spot" to see if it would move. It freaked him out - he wouldn't eat eggs for a while after that!
 

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