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Emily 25

Emily 25

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Hi I am newbie at raising chickens and I had a question about eggs. So I have had my chickens since they were chicks and now they are finally laying eggs :) and when I decide to have some more chicks I am going to let my hen hatch them so my question is can I candle the eggs after the first week to make sure they are developing alright and put it back without harming it?
 
Welcome to BYC! Yes you can. In fact, you should. Check to see if everything is going well, and then discard any nonviable eggs that aren't showing signs of development. I usually only candle twice. Around day seven (sometimes I wait a little later, no later than day 10 though) and day 18. I don't mess with eggs at all after day 18, whether in an incubator or under a hen. Sometimes I may slip one more candle between day 7 & 18, but usually no more than that.
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Emily 25 said:
Hi I am newbie at raising chickens and I had a question about eggs. So I have had my chickens since they were chicks and now they are finally laying eggs
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and when I decide to have some more chicks I am going to let my hen hatch them so my question is can I candle the eggs after the first week to make sure they are developing alright and put it back without harming it?
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Hi Emily!
Welcome to BYC.

What kind of chickens do you have?
 
Thank you! Ever since I have had my chickens I have always used BYC to look up questions that I had. And from everything I was reading on here that's what I thought but everybody was using an incubator so I just wanted to be sure that it would be okay to candle when letting the hen do the hatching. And I have 4 Orpingtons, 2 Barred Rocks but one is my rooster and 2 Rhoad Island Reds.
 
Thank y'all for welcoming me!!! Oh ok is there a time period or season when hens get broody or does it just depend on the hen?
 
Welcome to BYC
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Broodiness depends on the individual hen. I've had a hen go broody and hatch out her first eggs. We took the first ever one, she hid the next 12 from us and hatched the lot. Raised and weaned the chicks and did it all over again when she resumed laying. I also had a hen that went broody twice, aged 4 years and 6 years respectively. And hens that never went broody at all… and everything in-between! Some breeds, like Silkies, are very prone to brooding, some seldom if ever go broody. I'd say with your flock, depending on the ladies hormone levels, there is a chance you'd get some moms. You can encourage them by leaving a few "bait" eggs in the nest for them, I've had some success (intentional and accidental) with this method. Just make sure you mark and remove them once a hen falls for it, and replace it with fresh eggs.

Regarding candling, yes absolutely candle them and check. I pulled a rotten egg from my incubator 2 weeks ago. Enough said
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