May 2023 Hatch-a-long

[Canadian Wind]

Lucky me someone brought these beautiful marans eggs! They’re in the incubator and should hatch on May 8th!View attachment 3471664

Good luck candling!

 

[Dinoroar]

Good luck candling!

Ha! Yeah… We’ll see about that.

Speaking of candling I’m super anxious to peek at my duck eggs… maybe I’ll try tonight even though it’s only been 4 days

 

[Canadian Wind]

Ha! Yeah… We’ll see about that.

Speaking of candling I’m super anxious to peek at my duck eggs… maybe I’ll try tonight even though it’s only been 4 days

I'm waiting to see if these eggs that are due on the 20th will hatch before I plop duck eggs in mine.

Well, whether they hatch or no, once they're out, I put ducks in.

 

[junior67]

I candled last night (and then the few I didn't see anything in last night again tonight as well as the 1 I put in a day later.

out of 22 eggs set. I have 1 for sure clear that was removed, it had a detached air cell, not even a shipped one, so figured it was never going to develop once I saw that. Then 3 I don't see anything in but will give them more time and hope.... 1 is shipped and 2 are eggs I picked from my collections so not sure who laid them. LOL Today was day 4. So have 18 with chicks developing. 11 are the guys eggs I hatch for, 1 is from my silver laced Cochin, then 6 shipped (one of the shipped actually had a dented/cracked shell that I put wax on and figured I would see!).

 

[Dinoroar]

I candled last night (and then the few I didn't see anything in last night again tonight as well as the 1 I put in a day later.

out of 22 eggs set. I have 1 for sure clear that was removed, it had a detached air cell, not even a shipped one, so figured it was never going to develop once I saw that. Then 3 I don't see anything in but will give them more time and hope.... 1 is shipped and 2 are eggs I picked from my collections so not sure who laid them. LOL Today was day 4. So have 18 with chicks developing. 11 are the guys eggs I hatch for, 1 is from my silver laced Cochin, then 6 shipped (one of the shipped actually had a dented/cracked shell that I put wax on and figured I would see!).

That will be interesting to see if the cracked one does anything!

I candled my duck eggs and all 9 are looking awesome! I didn’t candle the quail or chicken eggs yet.

 

[Kwoka]

That's great that Mozzarella is standing up for herself! I've seen Moonsparkle try but the Australorps are so much bigger than her and she doesn't get very far. It's quite funny seeing them puff themselves up though, isn't it?! She's like a different hen, trying to act all feisty! She's still nice to us though.

Do you pick Mozzarella up to force her out for breaks? Or do you have a way of encouraging her? Thankfully I haven't had to deal with anything like that because Moonsparkle has been coming down once or twice a day for about 10 - 15 minutes. I wouldn't fancy having to lift her out what with the growling she gives when I peep in at her!

Yes, I really hope they don't become egg eaters. What a disaster that would be! I wonder if an egg got accidentally broken would a broody hen naturally eat it to prevent it going bad in the nest and contaminating her other eggs?

I have to pick her up and put her outside the coop, hand feed her a little and then it registers that she needs to eat, drink, poo, and take a dust bath. I do it at least twice a day when they get breakfast and when I check for eggs in the afternoon. She runs around clucking like a little “ticking time bomb” like she’s literally counting the seconds, it’s so funny I’m sure plenty of people just let their broody hens be, but I’m really attached to this one hate to see her dwindle away. She’s already lost weight, which I’m sure is normal.

 

[Waterfaery]

I have to pick her up and put her outside the coop, hand feed her a little and then it registers that she needs to eat, drink, poo, and take a dust bath. I do it at least twice a day when they get breakfast and when I check for eggs in the afternoon. She runs around clucking like a little “ticking time bomb” like she’s literally counting the seconds, it’s so funny I’m sure plenty of people just let their broody hens be, but I’m really attached to this one hate to see her dwindle away. She’s already lost weight, which I’m sure is normal.

I agree with you, I think it's good to make sure they're looked after. It must take a big toll on them.

Yes, it is so funny! Moonsparkle is just so super focused running around getting all of her business done as quickly as she can.

I'm worried that I spoke too soon yesterday, though. She didn't come down in the evening and she hasn't been down this morning yet, either. She had been coming down at those times all the other days. It's over 24 hours now since her last outing. I'd rather not interfere but I wonder how long it's safe to leave her. I mean, if nothing else, wouldn't you think they'd feel the need to drink?!

 

[junior67]

I agree with you, I think it's good to make sure they're looked after. It must take a big toll on them.

Yes, it is so funny! Moonsparkle is just so super focused running around getting all of her business done as quickly as she can.

I'm worried that I spoke too soon yesterday, though. She didn't come down in the evening and she hasn't been down this morning yet, either. She had been coming down at those times all the other days. It's over 24 hours now since her last outing. I'd rather not interfere but I wonder how long it's safe to leave her. I mean, if nothing else, wouldn't you think they'd feel the need to drink?!

I have let mine skip a day if sitting on eggs. Then the 2nd day if they don't go out then I make them. But mine normally only come off once a day and some once every other a lot of times.

 

[Waterfaery]

I have let mine skip a day if sitting on eggs. Then the 2nd day if they don't go out then I make them. But mine normally only come off once a day and some once every other a lot of times.

Thanks! She actually just came out now but that's great to know for the future. It's always hard to know what to expect the first time with anything.

That was the quickest, most frantic dust bath I've ever seen. She was on a mission!

She still has all 7 of her eggs so the one that got eaten yesterday was obviously one that was laid that day. I got 4 more from her nest just now so hopefully the eaten one was a one off.

I'm only taking away the spare eggs when she gets up so I don't know how long they've been there other than that. Do you think it's safe to eat eggs that have been sat on for a day or more?

 

[Iluveggers]

I have to pick her up and put her outside the coop, hand feed her a little and then it registers that she needs to eat, drink, poo, and take a dust bath. I do it at least twice a day when they get breakfast and when I check for eggs in the afternoon. She runs around clucking like a little “ticking time bomb” like she’s literally counting the seconds, it’s so funny I’m sure plenty of people just let their broody hens be, but I’m really attached to this one hate to see her dwindle away. She’s already lost weight, which I’m sure is normal.

I take my broody off every morning. She spends about 10 minutes eating, drinking & dust bathing. I leave her be for the rest of the day, although I did put a little chick feeder & waterer in the large nest box so she could nibble during the day. I’ve seen the food lower so I assume she’s eating a little. She’s a much more dedicated broody than my last who would come off multiple times and stay off for awhile, and ended up abandoning eggs at 2 weeks. Lol