Nesting box / hygiene / eggs not hatching

[Radrussie]

Hi everyone,

So... I have a chicken that is sitting on some eggs. it is day 21 today from when I first noticed her sitting. During this period about 3 eggs broke. I cleaned the nesting box out as best I could without washing the eggs. However some of the eggs are a little dirty bit of egg my soon poo and or mud.

I have used the light on my phone to check for development. Definitely had some development.

Mom is sitting on almost 24/7.

I noticed today that there was a dead chick. Is my nesting box to dirty? Nothing else has hatched.

 

[Radrussie]

and we have chicks. Still a few more eggs to hatch and been a while since the first egg hatched

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I don’t think they look too dirty. You might have a poor hatch rate because of the number of eggs though. The hen will move eggs around as she sits and if there are too many eggs they can cool too much while they are at the edge waiting for their turn at the center.

I’d definitely wait a couple more days to be sure no more will hatch.

 

[janiedoe]

Bacteria from the broken egg may have contaminated her nest. Did the chick, who died, look normal or mushy/bloated?

 

[Radrussie]

Bacteria from the broken egg may have contaminated her nest. Did the chick, who died, look normal or mushy/bloated?

Hi. So I did have a look at the chick seemed normal. Still wet and skinny. At least 3 chicks did hatch over yesterday but there is still more to go

 

[WIchickMama]

Cuties!

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

I think the box looks clean, is the dirt from the hen getting out to dust bathe then coming back to set on them>

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Keep us posted for sure!

 

[Radrussie]

I think the box looks clean, is the dirt from the hen getting out to dust bathe then coming back to set on them>

Hi. Thanks for the reply. This photo was a few days ago. The dirty the I am mostly worried about is from the broken eggs that I cleared out of the nest. I cleared out the shell and any wood chips that where spoiled. Worried that that might of got an infection or something on the shells. This is my first time hatching my own eggs as well as having a hen sit.

 

[gimmie birdies]

a large hen 12, a smaller hen 6-9.