Hatching with 2 broodies

[lizgarf]

From what I hear, eggs in danger of exploding will smell bad. So, if any of your eggs smell rotten, then you should remove them. Otherwise, ignorance should be at least as good a way to go as my over-involvement!

 

[Teila]

Ah, OK, that you for that; next time she hops off them, probably soon for her afternoon leg stretch, I will give them a sniff

 

[Teila]

OK, that's good, they smell OK. A bit chickeny or warm-strawish-ish but definitely not bad. Back to waiting and counting down the days!

 

[coops gone crazy]

So my USPS tracking says my eggs are 'out for delivery'. Cleaned the coop but decided to move the 2 broody hens to a private coop. When I cleaned they had 2 of the 4 eggs I gave them yesterday and a couple golf balls. Also a new small white egg- one of my Polish must be a hen and started laying today. But- that means two of the eggs I gave them yesterday are GONE. My egg production has been pretty low despite adding a light and I am pretty sure I have some serious egg eating going on in the hen house! So I'd rather keep them separate. Now to also figure out who is eating eggs and I guess cull. I watched one of my EEs pace back and forth looking in each nest box for a while just now. Maybe it is her. I hope it isn't all of them! The good news is that Helen (the sight impaired orpington) is already sitting in the new nest box on the eggs/golf balls I gave her.

 

[coops gone crazy]

 

[lizgarf]

Oh no! Is that how they shipped your eggs?!?! That's terrible!! Whom did you order them from?
Mine were each wrapped individually in bubble wrap, so they were carefully placed upright and none were damaged. Even so, I'm not sure there won't be problems with air cells. There can be a lot of problems with even well-shipped eggs I'm told.

As for egg-eating . . . do you give them oyster shells to supplement calcium? I've never had that problem - I hope you're able to solve it!

 

[lizgarf]

I may have solved my problem with the non-broodies breaking eggs. I put one of their non-fertile eggs in the back-up nest (cat carrier), and now they're using that instead of bothering the broodies in the main nest! I'm going to hope they keep up with that and not separate them out into separate structures entirely. 9 days left to go! Man, this is harder than just buying pullets!

 

[coops gone crazy]

No no! They were not shipped like that! Can't get pictures of them when the are all wrapped. I just unwrapped them & set them back on the bubble wrap in the box so they were safe. They were packaged beautifully & double boxed plus each in individual bubble wrap. Not a single one broken. Yes I have free choice oyster shell out. One of the hens was laying bad eggs- thin shelled or shell-less. I think that started it.

 

[Teila]

So my USPS tracking says my eggs are 'out for delivery'. Cleaned the coop but decided to move the 2 broody hens to a private coop. When I cleaned they had 2 of the 4 eggs I gave them yesterday and a couple golf balls. Also a new small white egg- one of my Polish must be a hen and started laying today. But- that means two of the eggs I gave them yesterday are GONE. My egg production has been pretty low despite adding a light and I am pretty sure I have some serious egg eating going on in the hen house! So I'd rather keep them separate. Now to also figure out who is eating eggs and I guess cull. I watched one of my EEs pace back and forth looking in each nest box for a while just now. Maybe it is her. I hope it isn't all of them! The good news is that Helen (the sight impaired orpington) is already sitting in the new nest box on the eggs/golf balls I gave her.

Keeping chickens is definitely not an exact science is it? The stories I have read since I joined have been amazing and while some are similar, they are never the same ... chickens lead a very complicated life, nest swapping, egg-napping, eggs-without-a-trace, strange antics and ailments etc

Good to hear about Helen; fingers crossed! And, good luck with the egg-napper

 

[Teila]

I may have solved my problem with the non-broodies breaking eggs. I put one of their non-fertile eggs in the back-up nest (cat carrier), and now they're using that instead of bothering the broodies in the main nest! I'm going to hope they keep up with that and not separate them out into separate structures entirely. 9 days left to go! Man, this is harder than just buying pullets!

Excellent news lizgarf ... minus one apprehension!
I was reading a thread earlier and the author mentioned "eggs hatched 3 days early (again)". While that would be good for apprehension-levels, still hoping that if anything happens with our batch it happens on the due date (Friday) so that I have the weekend to 'organise' if necessary. I'm thinking my very understanding boss may draw the line at me having a day off to 'play' with my girls!