hen sat on eggs, only 1 hatched

[koopmaster]

Hello everyone!
1st off, we have 4 white Chohen hens, 3 roosters of the same breed. All were born and raised by a hen and roo last spring here at our place.
The problem i have is 1 hen was sitting on 12 eggs, she sat well, 1 chick hatched 3 days ago. Mow she has stopped sitting on those eggs, and now i have 2 other hens sitting on other eggs!
The hen that 1st started sitting and successfully hatched the 1 chick is now NOT sitting on her eggs.
My question is.... are the eggs no longer any good to hatch? Could it be she knows yhat maybe they were not fertile or something?
Mike

 

[Jbently28]

Did you candle them throughout the process to make sure they fertilized and developing? Some hens will only sit for a couple more days after hatching to take care of the chicks that have hatched.

 

[koopmaster]

No, i did not candle the eggs. I thought "let nature take its coarse"!!!
Are the abandoned eggs no good? Should i get them out of the nest? I mean no hens are sitting on them.

 

[KittyCat13]

How old are the eggs? Has she been off the eggs long? You could always candle to see if they are still alive and if they are pop them under you other broody hens.

 

[Tiana's chickens]

Some could still hatch, she's only hopped off to look after the first chick

 

[koopmaster]

Some could still hatch, she's only hopped off to look after the first chick

Yeah? Cool! That is good to hear! We love the idea of our "native" born and raised on location flock!
But has been 4 days since the chick hatched, those eggs may still hatch? Now that hen is sitting on a different nest with 5-6 eggs! Broody is catchy

 

[koopmaster]

Some could still hatch, she's only hopped off to look after the first chick

Great point! We now have 3 hens sitting on 7 to 10 eggs each. Plus the abandonded nest of the first eggs that were being sat on
Just so you know, these eggs are kind of dirty, poop on them etc. Now the 3 nests that are being sat on now, those eggs look clean. Is that some indication?
Could this hen have realized only the one egg was fertilized? The little chick is tucking up to the hens while they are sitting.
This is totally different than the 1st time chicks were born to us. The last time all 8 eggs hatched within the same 24hr. Period, and the hen was up and active, these hens nowadays just want to sit!!!!!
Ive never candled eggs, is it as the name implies or is there special instructions?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Dirty eggs aren't a good thing but can still hatch. I don't candle if I know all the eggs were started at the same time. If I get a broody, I mark all the eggs under her so I can remove any future volunteers. That prevents a staggered hatch.

A hen on a staggered hatch will abandon the other eggs after a couple days because she needs to take care of the live chick. If it isn't very warm were you are, embryos abandoned for several hours will likely be dead.

 

[Jbently28]

Great point! We now have 3 hens sitting on 7 to 10 eggs each. Plus the abandonded nest of the first eggs that were being sat on
Just so you know, these eggs are kind of dirty, poop on them etc. Now the 3 nests that are being sat on now, those eggs look clean. Is that some indication?
Could this hen have realized only the one egg was fertilized? The little chick is tucking up to the hens while they are sitting.
This is totally different than the 1st time chicks were born to us. The last time all 8 eggs hatched within the same 24hr. Period, and the hen was up and active, these hens nowadays just want to sit!!!!!
Ive never candled eggs, is it as the name implies or is there special instructions?

Candling eggs are pretty simple. You can find many resources on what to look for. You don't need any special instruments. I use an led flashlight or you can even use the flashlight on your phone. Go into a dark room and place the light directly onto the fat end of the egg. If you have a flashlight it us easier to see if you cup your hand around the light to create more of a direct light on the egg. When you place it on the fat end you should see a clear space on that end. This is the air cell. If you don't see it than it is not fertilized. At this stage, besides the air cell, the rest of the egg should be dark. That dark matter is the chick. You may see a translucent red separating the two. That would be the membrane. You may even be able to see blood vessels running through it. You can turn the egg gently and may be able to catch some movement of the chick. If you do this and aren't sure what you're looking at than you can take some pics and post them on here and I'm sure myself and others will be able to help. Just be sure to be gentle with the eggs when handling them. And dirty eggs are not an indication of a bad egg. I just had a chick hatch last night under my bloody that was covered in dirt.

 

[koopmaster]

Western NY, Not been to cool here, but i will "candle the eggs now
Thank you!!