Congrats! I assume you plan on hatching some of your own fertile eggs? I really want to do that, but I can't have roosters where I live. Let us know how your RIR eggs turn out!
I'm so sorry to hear 2 now, but I'm thinking something was wrong also, last year I had a broody sitting on eggs and 2 hatched and had something terribly wrong with them, they didn't look like they had gone the whole 21 days but they had, she managed to kill one of them before I found her and was trying to kill the other one but I got it brought it in the house but even though it lived for close to a week it never looked like a fully formed 21 day hatchling. It finally just went on, We may never know why these things happen but sounds like something was going on in the egg. Hopefully you'll see some live healthy chicks in the next day or so. I really don't think your broody would have crushed them unless she can't move around really well inside the nest and has too many eggs. If you watch a broody with her eggs she is very gentle. The humidity and temp under mama she is regulating as well.
No pip yet... although one is starting to get that hollow feeling... I am so impatient.
It is super cute to see the other two running around though. The older one is showing the little one the ropes! Mom I think is going stir crazy, she does this weird thing where she flaps her wings like crazy and screams... the little babies sit down and seem terrified. Maybe I should rename Elvira to Joan Crawford.
I thought I would share a video of the moment I first wanted chickens. I was 12
At 5:45 in is where my favorite part starts... Maybe I should feed my girls entimans donuts.
Is that how you are finding them or have you removed the shell? If that's how they are under her I would guess they had a defect in the shell and it could not sustain the weight of the broody. If you've removed them from their shells after they did not hatch I would say that they probably had a defect in the chick that caused it not to hatch.WARNING: Graphic Photos! Here's the photos. Sorry for the poor quality of the first one. Can anyone offer any insights please?
What am I doing wrong??
Very sad day today. Had the same thing happen with chick no. 3!This time the chick was still completely inside the shell, it never broke through. In all three cases the surrounding shell was crushed. Hmm....it just doesn't seem like a normal hatch to me (not that I would know what a normal hatch looked like LOL cause this is my very first time - but looking at various photos on this forum these 'hatched eggs' don't look the same). None of these 3 eggs had a 'zipped' look to them. In all 3 eggs there was unabsorbed egg yolk. This last one, I couldn't see a head - think it must have been tucked underneath. All three were fully feathered. Today is day 22.
So now we're down from 8 to only 5 eggs left. I'm seriously wondering if Mama is doing something to these hatching eggs! She's still very determined to sit on her eggs. Sometimes I could swear she seems to be talking to them. Occasionally she lifts up and seems to be looking at them like someone just moved in there. I dunno!! Wishful thinking on my part??
I took a photo of this latest egg. I'm gonna try to download it here so others can maybe help me with an eggtopsy. I really want the rest to hatch ok!!!
