Is she broody???

[MottsHomestead]

Today is day 13. Just candled last night. 3 out of the 8 I gave her were gone! I have no idea what happened they just vanished!

This leaves her with only 5 eggs which are all developing beautifully!!

Perhaps a snake?

 

[chickens802]

I don't think so... we don't have many snakes here just the occasionally Gardner snake. Right now it is still pretty cold though temps range from single digits at night to around 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, some days it has been as warm as in the 60s though.

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

I have a Cuckoo Maran born around July 1st, 2021, almost 7 months old now. She is laying. She has been sitting in the same nest box every time I go in the coop (3-5 times a day) for the past three days. I am new to this and I have hatched many eggs with an incubator but have never experienced a broody hen. I would love to hatch some eggs with a broody but was hoping to wait another month for warmer temps. I know that it is not up to me though! She doesn't cluck much when I near her to check for eggs but she does try to peck my hand very aggressively which is not usually her style. Is she broody? Is she too young to hatch chicks? Should I expect others to go broody now too? Any advise will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

I have a broody the same age and her eggs are due to hatch at the same time! This thread has been super informative. Hoping you get some healthy babies.

 

[chickens802]

Beautiful girl! It’s just so cute seeing them all puffed up like that! Best of luck with your hatch as well.

 

[chickens802]

UPDATE: Yesterday was hatch day (day 21) and I found that another egg had gone missing! However this time there was evidence, there was dried on yolk on 3 out of the 4 remaining eggs but there were no shells or any other evidence. Last night around dark I couldn't resist and I decided to examine the remaining eggs.

One I found had a circular spot of cracking like what you would see when you go to crack an egg to eat, and a line crack coming off of it. The other 3 showed no signs of cracking that I could see.

This morning when I was doing coop chores one of my other hens flew up onto the nest with the mom (Now named Momma Patty). At first, she was just clinging to the edge and pecking at the bedding in the front. Then she reaches over to the back of Momma Patty and started pecking there. At that point, I had had enough and kicked her out of the coop.

I am not sure that she was going for the eggs but I think it could be likely. I am not sure that the cracked egg was cracked because of a hatching chick I think it is likely that it was the other hen or a lack of bedding maybe. Momma Patty does not seem to like having a lot of bedding under her. I use nesting pads made of a fake straw mat I buy them on amazon. Momma Patty tore through the nesting pad in the box on the very first day when she was making her nest and threw most of it out onto the floor. Every time I check on her I try to add more bedding but it is almost all gone or pushed to the sides by the time I get back to her.

This morning there were no signs of progress that I could see.

A thought has just now occurred to me, was it bad for me to mess with the eggs yesterday if they are close to hatch. I have read a little bit about shrinkwrapping when the humidity changes in an incubator near hatch time. Could this happen when I take the eggs out from under her? I do know that Momma Patty was off her nest around 4:30 pm yesterday... Do broody hens stop getting off their nests when hatching is starting, say to avoid humidity and temperature changes to the egg? She is a first-time momma, however.

When do you think it would be a good idea to abandon the eggs? I was thinking that if they don't end up hatching I could get a few chicks from my local feed store to put under her. Should I try candling the eggs again... I was thinking I might tomorrow night if there are still no signs of progress but again is it bad to handle/turn the eggs if the chick is ready to hatch?

Thanks so much for reading, BYC is always my first stop for any chicken questions I have. Any advice is extremely appreciated.

 

[Yardmom]

I don't think any harm will come do to your egg handeling. Mama hens don't lock down as early as an incubator. Many still get off just before hatch. What day is she on? She will continue to sit if they don't hatch. Plenty of time to look for other chicks. Candleing one time should be fine.

 

[chickens802]

Ok thanks. Today is day 23, when I posted it was day 21.

 

[chickens802]

Update: I just candled under the cover of darkness. One egg had definite movement. Two others had no movement that I could see. They had the air cell, then a pretty much solid dark blob throughout the rest of the egg, I could see lots of veins on both. The last egg the one I thought might be cracked had an air cell then a less solid blob with lighter spots. Is it safe to say that the last one is no good and should be thrown?

I also didn't see any pipping.

This is my second time candling eggs so I don't know much but I have watched a few youtube videos and read a lot here on BYC. I think that the 3 "good eggs" had larger air cells than they should've...

When do you think that I should expect the hatch?

 

[Yardmom]

It sounds like the day count was off, but you should have chicks soon. If air cells were large and all the rest was dark they are probably about to internally pip.

 

[chickens802]

Ok thanks, how long do you think until hatch after internal pip?