Help, eggs didn't hatch

[schneidercanet]

I had a broody chicken in the past 3 weeks. When she sat on the eggs (Sunday), there were 3 or 4 eggs. On Tuesday, there were 14 eggs, and I took the 6 most recent ones. Later, there was another egg -- 9 in total. The hen broke 2 of the eggs -- 7 left. Past Saturday, 20 days past the first Sunday, one egg hatched. The remaining 6 didn't hatch yet, but the hen is still broody and still sits on the eggs. I have a rooster, and I notice that most of the eggs that I opened to eat are fertilised. The only thing I think may have gone wrong is the following: about a week after the hen was sitting on the eggs, they were getting coated with a mix of cardboard and mud that got very hard. I was afraid that the chicks might have not been getting enough air, so I removed those coatings. I'm not very experienced with chickens, so at that time I didn't know that I might have removed the protective layer around the shell that protects against bacteria. May this have been the cause of the lack of success? The 6 remaining eggs don't smell as if they were rotten, and I lightly shook one of them and I felt something moving inside. May it be an unborn chick?
I'm asking this because now I have 2 other broody hens, and I'm planning on hatching 20 eggs I've been keeping and selecting. It would be a huge waste of time and eggs if almost no chicks were born.

 

[heebygeebies]

It could be because you washed them, I know I have done experiments in the past where i washed a few eggs that were very dirty and put them in the bator and the washed eggs were more likely not to hatch But that being said, some of the chicks would have still hatched.

I think it is possible your hen was off the eggs too long. IF she decided to set on 4 eggs then started getting more and more eggs it sounds like she is just inexperienced. She might figure it out as time goes on.

 

[schneidercanet]

It could be because you washed them, I know I have done experiments in the past where i washed a few eggs that were very dirty and put them in the bator and the washed eggs were more likely not to hatch But that being said, some of the chicks would have still hatched.

I think it is possible your hen was off the eggs too long. IF she decided to set on 4 eggs then started getting more and more eggs it sounds like she is just inexperienced. She might figure it out as time goes on.

I didn't wash them. But maybe the fact that I removed those hard coatings of dirt (I didn't use any water, just my hands) had the same effect as washing them. I don't see any other explanation besides that and also some bad luck.

 

[Bill 101]

It not a good idea to shake an egg, especially if it's being incubated & it's not ideal to set dirty eggs either.
You can candle eggs under a hen too. It would be the best way to eliminate infertile ones
Give all the eggs you want the hen to incubate to her at one time & keep the others, any way you can, from laying more egg in the nest. You can even mark those you want her to set on & then remove any others (not the best way, but can be done)

 

[schneidercanet]

It not a good idea to shake an egg, especially if it's being incubated & it's not ideal to set dirty eggs either.
You can candle eggs under a hen too. It would be the best way to eliminate infertile ones
Give all the eggs you want the hen to incubate to her at one time & keep the others, any way you can, from laying more egg in the nest. You can even mark those you want her to set on & then remove any others (not the best way, but can be done)

Thank you for the advice. What do you mean with "it's not ideal to set dirty eggs either"? I always heard that we should wash the eggs.

 

[Bill 101]

Your post said "you didn't wash the eggs" When you rub them with your hands to remove dirt, what you actually do is rub that dirt into the pores of the eggs clogging them.

 

[schneidercanet]

Your post said "you didn't wash the eggs" When you rub them with your hands to remove dirt, what you actually do is rub that dirt into the pores of the eggs clogging them.

OK thanks.