hen troubles...very worried, need help!

[ilovemychook24]

okay so my very small bantam has been laying on eggs for 19 days now but on day 17, 18 and today, i've noticed that when i get there she is wandering around the pen, when i check up on her eggs theyre scattered everywhere in the nesting box and they are quite cold, on day 17 i cracked one open to see if it was okay and it was alive (i felt so bad for opening it) so i left the eggs alone till today, i was scared they were dead but i think i heard one faintly pecking inside the egg... when i put the hen back on the nest she seemed to refuse to sit but after awhile she would stick to sitting, i'm scared these eggs are dead or dieing, should i incubate them? also some of the eggs smell, are they rotten? should i candle? any reason why she seems to be uniterested in her eggs? i really want these chicks to hate

also on another note i have another hen sitting on a few eggs but they are a few weeks old about 3 weeks plus, i was wondering will they still hatch? should i put the cold eggs underneath her instead?

 

[Judy]

Broodies do all sorts of things, including abandoning a nest when it's nearly time to hatch. I think in this case I would put the cold ones under the broody who stays on the nest. And yes, if one smelled spoiled I would remove it. I've never had one explode but have read of this happening -- not only does it stink, it contaminates the others as the explosion is from bacterial growth in a dead egg. Many would advise you to candle but this is something I've never tried. There are pics on here to show you what you're supposed to see, but I don't think it would mean much to me unless I saw movement. As for the old eggs, I've read of eggs hatching I think up to day 24 but not past that. I know they can hatch a little late if allowed to get cold.

Another thing, in hot weather my broodies will stay off the nest longer than in winter. Since the incubation temp is right at 100, in really hot weather it makes sense that they would hatch anyway.

 

[KansasBoy]

If there's a rotten smell then chances are some are, I would definitely candle them and pull out the bad eggs! If there's room under the other hen to place whatever eggs are still good I'd move them to her and not the incubator! If there's not room then incubate them... It may be because some have gone bad... But it sure sounds like she's become uninterested!

 

[ilovemychook24]

thankyou

i'm new to broody hens, as this is my second ever and my first did it very well with ease, how can i tell which ones are rotten before i candle? when i picked some of them up they all had the same faint smell but it wasnt strong, some more faint then others, also do you reckon they are all dead or should i hang on and see what happens?

 

[ScissorChick]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens ilovemychook24!

I think your broody simply stopped sitting.

Throw the smelly eggs out, they're definatly dead,

and you could have a mess on your hands if they

are not done away with. Candle the good eggs, &

check for movement, any signs of life, or a beak in

the air sac (looks like a pin-point) And either set

them in the 'bator, or put them under the other

broody - if there is room. Do not take the eggs

from the broody who is still setting. Three weeks

is 21 days, so they still have a chance. They can

hatch up to 6 days late, to. Sorry this happened

It's happened to me to.

~ Scissor

 

[ilovemychook24]

thanks for the advice

i reckon best i can do is candle them and wait till tomorrow (which will be their due hatch date)
hopefully at least one or two hatch

since i heard pecking there should possibly be atleast one

 

[ScissorChick]

Good luck!