New to this please help? I think all my eggs died

[Laney3535]

ok so I have a Buff Orphington who went broody and I have her a clutch of random fertilized eggs from that day, they developed until day 6 and a weird accident happened and all of the eggs rolled out and broke on the ground so u built a new best on the ground where eggs can't roll out and have her a new clutch.... We have 10 eggs total, 1 never developed at all, and I candle every three days or so I candled last on day 10 and it is now day 13... They all have very healthy air cells nice and big but not too big none broken. Only one egg I could see movement but it was a white egg and all my others are brown and blue. But two concern me a lot, when I slowly turn the egg to find a good spot to light the whole chick inside is detached and all the liquid moves around the air cell is still intact and healthy but there is no movement from the chicks.... My blue eggs are too think and dark to see anything at all! But I havnt seen movement in my others but there's obvious development happening what should I think????

 

[RandomDuck]

They are fine. The fact that they are rolling around is actually something you should look for. It means the chick isn't stuck to its shell. You have to stop worrying, and try to keep contact with the eggs to a minimum. I'm sure they will turn out just fine

 

[RandomDuck]

Oh, and keep me updated!!

 

[Laney3535]

Ok good! Thank you! I will keep updated I will candle again in the next few days! I'm worried though I have to bring my hen food and water because this is her first brood and she REFUSUES to get up and eat and drink

 

[Kitacooch]

I'm new to this too and my problem is dirty eggs and other hens. Our chooks free range but all come back to lay. Trouble is the other hens are sitting on top of two broodies, and they have broken eggs and made a real mess of the nest. Even though there are other nesting boxes vacant. I can't tell if the eggs are rotten or if it's the nest that smells. I didn't want to intervene too much but in the end I lifted the broody out cleaned up the mess, replaced the nesting hay, wiped as much gunk off the eggs as I could with a warm damp towel and put them back. Now I'm reading that I shouldn't have wiped them but at the same time - eggs covered in broken egg or poop won't hatch either. Some have gone over 21 days and I don't know if to toss them or not. Do the hens not reject "bad" eggs? Thankyou!

 

[Aphrael]

I'm new to this too and my problem is dirty eggs and other hens. Our chooks free range but all come back to lay. Trouble is the other hens are sitting on top of two broodies, and they have broken eggs and made a real mess of the nest. Even though there are other nesting boxes vacant. I can't tell if the eggs are rotten or if it's the nest that smells. I didn't want to intervene too much but in the end I lifted the broody out cleaned up the mess, replaced the nesting hay, wiped as much gunk off the eggs as I could with a warm damp towel and put them back. Now I'm reading that I shouldn't have wiped them but at the same time - eggs covered in broken egg or poop won't hatch either. Some have gone over 21 days and I don't know if to toss them or not. Do the hens not reject "bad" eggs? Thankyou!

Some hens will reject bad eggs, others won't. Most literature says not to wash your hatching eggs because it removes the bloom, which is a natural protective barrier. However, if you have an egg get soiled like that, you have to get it off or the egg is likely to get invaded with bacteria. I have also read about some people who wash ALL their hatching eggs in antibacterial soap or dip them in antibacterial solution before ever setting them. So washing, done correctly, isn't going to doom your eggs to death.

To check your eggs for viability there are several things you can try. First off is the sniff test. Take each egg one at a time (away from the nest if the bad smell is still lingering there) and put it directly against your nose and get a good whiff of it. It shouldn't have any kind of "off" odor to it. This might not work if the gunk on them was stinky and you couldn't get it all off. Next, you can candle each egg. The inside of the egg should be very full and dark with your light only penetrating into the air cell. You may or may not see the shadow of the chick moving. Just because you don't see movement doesn't necessarily mean it is dead. They rest a lot when preparing to hatch. There is also the float test. This can only be done with eggs that have not pipped. You take a bowl of warm water (99-100 degrees) and one at a time gently float the egg into the water. Give it a few seconds for the ripples caused by you placing the egg to settle. Live eggs should gently wobble causing their own ripples in the water.

 

[Kitacooch]

Thank you so much for the advice. You hit the nail on the head I think with the eggs smelling due to not being able to get all the rubbish off. I think I all go out with a torch tonight and see what I can see - and then maybe a bucket tomorrow. In my heart I think they are dead, but I would hate throw eggs out that haven't been given a chance. Even though we are well over 21 days. Stressful stuff this chicken game lol

 

[Laney3535]

So all my eggs seem to still be developing and all have healthy air cells! 6 days left!

 

[Aphrael]

Thank you so much for the advice. You hit the nail on the head I think with the eggs smelling due to not being able to get all the rubbish off. I think I all go out with a torch tonight and see what I can see - and then maybe a bucket tomorrow. In my heart I think they are dead, but I would hate throw eggs out that haven't been given a chance. Even though we are well over 21 days. Stressful stuff this chicken game lol

I also won't throw any out without knowing for certain there is nothing alive in there. It certainly is very stressful. But when you do get those fluffy, beautiful babies, it is SO worth it! I hope you find good news tonight. Let us know how it goes.

So all my eggs seem to still be developing and all have healthy air cells! 6 days left!

That's great!

Hope you get lots of fluffballs!

 

[ducky1]

I am also new but I learned that if their rolling but not chipping or pipping give them some more time they can delay hatches sometimes if you can't see anything I found another way to check if their infertile but u won't be able to do it the fist day u will have to wait. Well anyway when your on about the 16 day just guessing. Smell the egg it sounds stupid but if it smells like yuck its obvious its bad it worked for me when the egg had dirt along the shell and it blinded the light.