Newbie to Hatching Eggs...HELP!!

[crazychickengirl]

Hey everyone! I need som egg-hatching advice! I had a hen that has been sitting on some eggs since April 29th. Day 21 would have been yesterday. I've had my concerns about these eggs hatching because I've seen the hen stay off the nest for a couple hours at a time and my DD4 has "collected" her eggs at least once. We promptly returned the eggs to their "momma". Anyways, my kids and I have been eagerly awaiting the new babies, but so far none of the eggs have hatched. I did notice a couple of days ago that Momma Hen smelled a bit rotten when we lifted her off of her eggs, and did find two rotten eggs that we disposed of. She started out with 12 eggs and is down to 5 after candling them during the 2nd week.

Tonight I checked the eggs again and still no babies, so I had lost hope of any hatching. I decided to just crack the eggs open and see how devleoped they were. The first one I cracked open was rotten. The second one I cracked open had a fully formed chick in it...and it was moving. I was mortified. Obviously there was nothing that I could do for the little guy since it hadn't drawn in it's yolk sak yet, and it eventually died. So now I'm a little gun-shy on messing with the others. Is it normal for them to be "overdue"? And how much longer should I wait for them to hatch? Last year this same hen went broody, sat on one egg and hatched out a chick on the 21st day just as scheduled. I guess I was planning for the same thing to happen this year.

Any advice on what to do and how long to wait would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Kessidy]

I would give it a bit longer. There have been chicks here as late as 24 days and if the yolk was still not drawn in they must not be ready yet.

 

[crazychickengirl]

Thanks for the info! So if today is Day 22, maybe I should wait until Friday before disposing of them? I have a friend who suggested leaving them until they either hatch or explode, but I'd like to try to hatch a new batch under my Momma Hen asap if none of the current batch will hatch.

I'll post again if/when there's any progress!!

 

[SterlingAcres]

I'd wait. If they're under a hen, they could be a few days behind. Good luck with the remainder.

 

[CindyS]

If you saw her off the eggs for hours at a time, they are bound to hatch late. You can try pressing the big end up to your ear and see if you hear little sounds.

 

[crazychickengirl]

I will wait it out...but I think I will go out and see if I can hear anything in the meantime. I'm so anxious for some little babies! I don't NEED anymore, but it's just so much fun having little babies around! LOL Thanks for the advice!

 

[crazychickengirl]

GOOD NEWS! My friend came over and brought her mega-flashlight so she could candle my remaining three eggs. One had died recently, and at least one is ALIVE! I could see it move! The other one looked healthy, but we didn't see any noticeable movement. So I'm eagerly awaiting my babies!!! I'll keep you posted!