Hen sitting in 16 filthy eggs

Okay, so I finally caught her off the nest and took the opportunity to see what I was dealing with. Somehow the eggs were no longer as dirty but there were 23 of them 🤦. So, I took them all out, cleaned the nest, put fresh hay, and put all 23 back. Obviously others are laying under her and about half of these won't hatch. Ugh. Next time I'm going to be more proactive and mark the eggs.
 
Okay, so I finally caught her off the nest and took the opportunity to see what I was dealing with. Somehow the eggs were no longer as dirty but there were 23 of them 🤦. So, I took them all out, cleaned the nest, put fresh hay, and put all 23 back. Obviously others are laying under her and about half of these won't hatch. Ugh. Next time I'm going to be more proactive and mark the eggs.

She’ll move again hopefully giving you time to mark them.
 
She was sitting on a rotten egg! I just cleaned the nest up and she's taking a dirt bath. I threw away 2 more that had cracked. Part of me wants to candle them tonight and part of me wants to throw them all away. It's probably hopeless, right?

Well...if you are sure they are rotten then you wouldn't have to inspect them too thoroughly.

You should be able to smell if they are rotten. And if you do that, it will save you the heart ache of seeing half formed or dead chicks.
 
She was sitting on a rotten egg! I just cleaned the nest up and she's taking a dirt bath. I threw away 2 more that had cracked. Part of me wants to candle them tonight and part of me wants to throw them all away. It's probably hopeless, right?

Candle them. Don't toss them all. Let the others have a chance!
But I do suggest you candle them to see if there's even any life in there.
 
Well...if you are sure they are rotten then you wouldn't have to inspect them too thoroughly.

You should be able to smell if they are rotten. And if you do that, it will save you the heart ache of seeing half formed or dead chicks.
They all have an odor due to that 1 rotten egg. Some felt lighter than others when picked them up so I'm assuming those are duds. Even if just 1 hatches, I'd feel better for her.
 
They all have an odor due to that 1 rotten egg. Some felt lighter than others when picked them up so I'm assuming those are duds. Even if just 1 hatches, I'd feel better for her.

I would still rather go with candling than weight. But if they smell it could be that they're also rotten or the smell is lingering. I would use this time to mark them too! =)
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom