Ok so i had a hatch set on December 2nd at about 10am under a broody hen. I candled the eggs under her at day 10. I had 13 under her, threw the 2 infertile's away, and let her sit on the remaining 11. I have only actually seen 5 different chicks, but then i moved her today and she is still sitting on 4 eggs!! So hopefully she has hatched 7 thus far!!! Here's my questions:
How long do i let her sit on the remaining eggs? Doing the math, if i set them on the 2nd, They were a FULL 21 days on the morning of 12/24/2010 at 10am. I did not see any evidence of hatching, until the middle of the 24th, and then i saw cracked shells and heard a peep. Then yesterday on Christmas, a few more hatched, and i got to see a few Christmas fuzzy butts!! I just went out this morning, and it looks like 1 more has hatched, so my question is, how long do i let her sit on the remaining eggs? I candled all of them and they seem to be full (large black mass in the inside, but cannot discern movement), so how long do i wait?
As of right now, its been almost a FULL 25 days of incubation. There are four eggs left, and i want to open them up and examine them if they are quitters, but how do i know if they are? I have heard so many horror stories of people opening up shells of live babies before, and i don't want to be responsible for killing a possibility. I am not going to touch them for a while, and let nature finish its course, im just kinda wondering when SHE is going to give up on them, and move off the nest.
I was thinking about waiting another full 2 days, that would be 27 days of incubation. They should ALL be done by then right? Thoughts?
Next question is: When the hell is she going to get up off the nest so i can finally see the chicks? I really wanna look at em, but they are ALWAYS underneath her. Every once in a while i get to see a little head poking out, but for the most part, they are keeping warm.. They are darn cute though!!
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Nate
How long do i let her sit on the remaining eggs? Doing the math, if i set them on the 2nd, They were a FULL 21 days on the morning of 12/24/2010 at 10am. I did not see any evidence of hatching, until the middle of the 24th, and then i saw cracked shells and heard a peep. Then yesterday on Christmas, a few more hatched, and i got to see a few Christmas fuzzy butts!! I just went out this morning, and it looks like 1 more has hatched, so my question is, how long do i let her sit on the remaining eggs? I candled all of them and they seem to be full (large black mass in the inside, but cannot discern movement), so how long do i wait?
As of right now, its been almost a FULL 25 days of incubation. There are four eggs left, and i want to open them up and examine them if they are quitters, but how do i know if they are? I have heard so many horror stories of people opening up shells of live babies before, and i don't want to be responsible for killing a possibility. I am not going to touch them for a while, and let nature finish its course, im just kinda wondering when SHE is going to give up on them, and move off the nest.
I was thinking about waiting another full 2 days, that would be 27 days of incubation. They should ALL be done by then right? Thoughts?
Next question is: When the hell is she going to get up off the nest so i can finally see the chicks? I really wanna look at em, but they are ALWAYS underneath her. Every once in a while i get to see a little head poking out, but for the most part, they are keeping warm.. They are darn cute though!!
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Nate
