Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[vmdanielsen]

SO frustrating being ignorant and not good at much(sorry-am VERY frustrated-grrrrr) BREATHE-just tried to candle eggs and can't tell ANYTHING for sure. Its day 11 and altho there were differences in eggs NONE of them had veins that I could tell. MOST of the eggs(only candled 7 of the appx. 12 eggs under her) seemed predominantly dark with the "air sack" at end clear. didn't look like a chic form -TOO much dark it seemed to me. and the others that were different looked simalar to the ones I have seen online that showed POSSIBLE bacterial growth(but not definitly so you don't want to toss them IN CASE) I am blue. ANYHOW -in frustration put ALL eggs back under her and came in almost in tears. And am going to try to look up more pics. dumb chickens.(not serious but am SO frustrated)

If you are candling brown eggs, they can be very difficult to see though! Try taking a fresh egg of the same color, and compare to that. The developing eggs should be darker, harder to see though. If that is what you see, let momma do her thing. I could not see any veining with my brown eggs.

 

[Nigellas]

Question: How long do I leave the unhatched eggs under mama. They were due to hatch yesterday... I have 2 out of 7 not hatched.

 

[Featherland26]

lesson learned: Never build up a house that is two inches off the ground without a ramp, a chick came out of the coop and I guess it couldn't come back up so it got cold and died

Answeing your question above, the hen will leave the nest with unhatched eggs when she is ready. If she is still sittin g on them I would not remove them. I had a hen that hatched a chick on day 22. On day 23 and 24, four more hatched out. Hope this helps.

 

[vmdanielsen]

lesson learned: Never build up a house that is two inches off the ground without a ramp, a chick came out of the coop and I guess it couldn't come back up so it got cold and died

Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Oh I'm sorry. It's never easy to loose a chick.

lesson learned: Never build up a house that is two inches off the ground without a ramp, a chick came out of the coop and I guess it couldn't come back up so it got cold and died

Answeing your question above, the hen will leave the nest with unhatched eggs when she is ready. If she is still sittin g on them I would not remove them. I had a hen that hatched a chick on day 22. On day 23 and 24, four more hatched out. Hope this helps.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I left the eggs until my Smokey wouldn't sit on them anymore. She got up on about the 2nd day after her 3 chicks hatched - walked over to the feeder with them and then promptly sat down on her "new" nest area. She wouldn't go back onto the eggs - so I removed the remaining 5 that did not hatch - candled them - and they were not going to hatch so I tossed those. Congrats on the new chicks!

Question: How long do I leave the unhatched eggs under mama. They were due to hatch yesterday... I have 2 out of 7 not hatched.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Sooooo adorable!

Here's 3 of the 5 hatched babies with doting Mama Chicken. 2 eggs left under her...

 

[SIMZ]

Our broody hen hatched 6 chicks two weeks ago! It's been so much fun to watch her take care of them. I've learned quite a bit from watching them, to be honest.

Now my only problem is figuring out how these six chicks fit into my plan..........because they really don't!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Like the others have said - don't beat yourself up over candling. It takes practice and patient - you CAN do it - you just need the right tools. I see that you are going to make a better candler - that will help. The egg shell color can make a difference too in how easy it will be to see what's happening. I can easily candle white shells - but once they put their brown coloring on it - it gets harder. Blue shells would be easier to candle then green and forget about me trying with olive shells! What I do is make sure it's absolutely dark - inner bathroom with no light on - use highest power flashlight with smallest opening for light to shine through. You can candle at the coop - make sure it's dark outside - not dusk. Hold the egg - big end up and shine the light in from the 1 o'clock position (or 11 o'clock position if you're left handed). You should be able to see something in the egg regardless of the time of incubating. If you see absolutely nothing - toss the egg. If you see a dark spot that doesn't have veins or movement - you can sniff the egg - if it doesn't stink - put it back and wait. It could be a dud or maybe it's just too hard to see the veining. If you pull one out that has a definite ring in it (blood ring) and nothing else - toss it - it may cause problems otherwise - but make sure you don't see anything except the ring. When I'm in doubt I leave them alone. If they have any smell at all - usually like cooked egg or sulfur - take them out carefully and dispose of them - but don't break them open!

Hang in there - it will get easier

SO frustrating being ignorant and not good at much(sorry-am VERY frustrated-grrrrr) BREATHE-just tried to candle eggs and can't tell ANYTHING for sure. Its day 11 and altho there were differences in eggs NONE of them had veins that I could tell. MOST of the eggs(only candled 7 of the appx. 12 eggs under her) seemed predominantly dark with the "air sack" at end clear. didn't look like a chic form -TOO much dark it seemed to me. and the others that were different looked simalar to the ones I have seen online that showed POSSIBLE bacterial growth(but not definitly so you don't want to toss them IN CASE) I am blue. ANYHOW -in frustration put ALL eggs back under her and came in almost in tears. And am going to try to look up more pics. dumb chickens.(not serious but am SO frustrated)

 

[Miss Lydia]

lesson learned: Never build up a house that is two inches off the ground without a ramp, a chick came out of the coop and I guess it couldn't come back up so it got cold and died

Answeing your question above, the hen will leave the nest with unhatched eggs when she is ready. If she is still sittin g on them I would not remove them. I had a hen that hatched a chick on day 22. On day 23 and 24, four more hatched out. Hope this helps.

So sorry.