Help! I found a bunch of eggs a broody hen has kept.

[posky01]

We just found a stash of eggs!
I dont know how old they are. They are all warm... I'm scared to take them away as they may be growing into babies...
How do I check if they are growing, without damaging them? Any advice is highly appreciated.

 

[MGG]

Take a flash light and put it up to the big end of the egg

 

[MGG]

You will see a baby inside if they're viable. Do you have a rooster?

 

[MGG]

Look up candling chicken eggs. You will get lots of pics and charts

 

[nuthatched]

having a Rooster or not gives you a 99% educated guess!

 

[MGG]

I realized I probably better check, my friend set a bunch of eggs and called me when none hatched on "hatch day". She didn't have a rooster

 

[posky01]

You will see a baby inside if they're viable. Do you have a rooster?

Yes I do

 

[MGG]

That's good. I would try candling them. If you have helper you can take some pics and post them here. We might be able to guess how far along they are

 

[posky01]

I took a very bright light and can see veins in the yolks. I compared it to some lain today, and couldnt see any yolk, it was almost all clear. Assuming, they have been incubated for days...
I ended up placing under a heat lamp instead of replacing with the hen. #1 I dont want her laying there anymore... #2 I dont want to mix them getting mixed up with new eggs. #3 I dont want other Hens or the rooster hurting the babies if they do hatch.

 

[electrycmonk]

There are a few amazing threads here on your situation..... 1) The one detail I found VERY cool.... Mark all the eggs as ~todays date in pencil. 2) there are also threads on impromptu incubator OR setup a dog crate as a temporary nursery so the hen can do her job -after all she "seems to want to do this."
3) get ready your food and water dispensers for babies......
4) prep a more stout dog crate for hen and chicks to be staged near/next to the flock so they are used to one-another as the hatching and rasing continues...... See threads on this as well....

(The treasure trove in here is phenominal)