Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[tjo804]

If the egg were alive you would be able to see some veining and movement from the embryo.
Also before you throw it out you would by 7 days be able to tell if an embryo was even developing.

 

[feistychick]

If the egg were alive you would be able to see some veining and movement from the embryo.
Also before you throw it out you would by 7 days be able to tell if an embryo was even developing.

I had done some reading on candling and everything I read said that I should have been able to see some veining by day 7 if something was growing. She had kicked the eggs right out onto the cold floor and moved them away from the nest area - I wonder if they know that they aren't something that's growing?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Any advice or opinions Please?
Ok the Broodie Chick thing is very cool and all, But now I have to go out and freeze to see them

I really don't like being cold.
It is staying around 50 deg in the brooder coop even though there is lots of wind and cold outside. I added a layer of insulation half way up the coop and closed off half of the top space so there is still a gap for air exchange but less since heat rises.

Also I have been told I have a really bad nose. But I think it is gettin a bit smelly. Dont know if it is bad eggs or poo since she is not getting up. Not sure if I should bite the bullet and just take the eggs and shells from Mama If I candle and they are alive I can put them under the other broody I have and if they hatch return the chicks to Babybear.

I also moved the food dish so she would have to get up if she gets hungry again I think the chicks can reach it if they move a bit past Ma.
I could be wrong but I think this is taking too long for her. Her comb is looking a little drier than I think It should.

It has been my experience that if anything is going to hatch, it will happen within 24 hours of the first chick...sometimes 48 hours...but the vast majority of my hatches all chicks who are going to hatch do so within 24 hours of my first hatches, assuming all eggs were set at the same time.

If after 2 days nothing else has hatched, I recommend candling the eggs and giving them a sniff test, unless you sense something is off before then.

You may be smelling bad eggs now as chicks who die in the shell can deteriorate very quickly, with the right environment/temp, and can get quite smelly. Broody poo is smelly, but you should have been seeing and smelling that all along. If this is a new smell, it is likely time to clean up the nest and remove the debris or at least check the source. Babies do not need to be wading through thick poo or snuggled against bacterial egg baskets of dead chicks.

You also don't want momma languishing on those last duds when she should be taking care of the new babes. Doing so creates a new set of issues dealing with staggard chicks. My experience is those really late hatchers are never-do-wells and remain spindly and sickly. Even after carefully trying to nurture them to health, I generally lose them before adult hood either to some oddity, failure to thrive, or illness.

It sounds harsh, but if you've got healthy chicks within 36 hours of each other, and no other signs of pipping, and all eggs were set at the same time, count your chicks and toss your losses.

My experiences.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

What were you looking for in them at only one week old?

I get the best results at day 3 to 4, no later than 5, to see if they were fertile and growing. You see a little bean in the center with a roadwork of veins coming off of it.

By day 7, it is mostly dark blob in 1/3 of the shell. By day 12, you've got nearly 2/3 dark shell blob with air space and large veins. After 14 or 15, it is hard to see much other than dark blob. By then if you hold very still, you can sometimes see and feel movement. I find it hard to tell the late quitters at later than day 7 to 10. It is easy to tell the early quitters and they stop developing while the other, growing chicks, consume more and more of the shell.

I am using a simple LED flashlight from the Dollar Store with egg cupped in my hand. Those who make more effort and expense get better results. I do this quickly and simply on the fly to eliminate the duds so that I have less risk of bad eggs exploding in warm weather or a persistent hen brooding on duds and ignoring new babes.

I hope your farm is doing well, you've always got something going on

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I had done some reading on candling and everything I read said that I should have been able to see some veining by day 7 if something was growing. She had kicked the eggs right out onto the cold floor and moved them away from the nest area - I wonder if they know that they aren't something that's growing?

Yes, they can hear and sense growing chicks in the shell, not unlike a mother feeling her baby tossing and turning. I do not see kicking out so much early in the brood, but I definitely see the good broodies kick out the bad eggs as the brood nears the end. If you stand and watch a clutch of mostly developed chicks, you can sometimes see them move.

LofMc

 

[nchls school]

I read a lot of posts mentioning eggs that the hen tossed out of the nest; be sure to candle these eggs before discarding them. My avatar hen pushed an egg aside and I put it in the garbage; a bit later I thought better of what I'd done, retrieved the egg, and put it under a brooding silkie. When I candled a week later I was surprised-the rejected egg had a chick inside. I do not think the egg had been really rejected; accidents happen. I have doubts that hens are able to tell if the eggs are good or not.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I get the best results at day 3 to 4, no later than 5, to see if they were fertile and growing. You see a little bean in the center with a roadwork of veins coming off of it.

By day 7, it is mostly dark blob in 1/3 of the shell. By day 12, you've got nearly 2/3 dark shell blob with air space and large veins. After 14 or 15, it is hard to see much other than dark blob. By then if you hold very still, you can sometimes see and feel movement. I find it hard to tell the late quitters at later than day 7 to 10. It is easy to tell the early quitters and they stop developing while the other, growing chicks, consume more and more of the shell.

I am using a simple LED flashlight from the Dollar Store with egg cupped in my hand. Those who make more effort and expense get better results. I do this quickly and simply on the fly to eliminate the duds so that I have less risk of bad eggs exploding in warm weather or a persistent hen brooding on duds and ignoring new babes.

I hope your farm is doing well, you've always got something going on

LofMc

I agree on early candling. I was just checking to see if the poster had done some home-work. I am getting so many eggs I can not sell them all---But I am doing NO Hatching right now---------can you believe that??

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree on early candling. I was just checking to see if the poster had done some home-work. I am getting so many eggs I can not sell them all---But I am doing NO Hatching right now---------can you believe that??

Good for you! I'm getting frightfully little eggs right now. Weather has been horrid, dark, and heavy, heavy rain/sleet for several weeks. They are all huddled up with no mood to lay. I'm getting maybe 1 or 2 per day out of my 11 layers (pared down for the winter).

I am however brooding my first test batch on a new Barnevelder rooster. Ol Barney seems to be fertile as the eggs are developing, due to hatch this Wednesday. These are just barnyard mixes, California Grey/Barnevelder, but I have plans to start doing some Olive Eggers...once the rest of the hens start cooperating as the daylight gets better and weather warmer.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I read a lot of posts mentioning eggs that the hen tossed out of the nest; be sure to candle these eggs before discarding them. My avatar hen pushed an egg aside and I put it in the garbage; a bit later I thought better of what I'd done, retrieved the egg, and put it under a brooding silkie. When I candled a week later I was surprised-the rejected egg had a chick inside. I do not think the egg had been really rejected; accidents happen. I have doubts that hens are able to tell if the eggs are good or not.

....and yes....good eggs do get kicked out on accident. Happens all the time as well.

LofMc

 

[generaldsherman]

Yes. They are precious. Seramas? My avatar frizzy should start hatching tomorrow-only four eggs survived this long. I hope they hatch.

One EE or OE depending on the dad and the other is pure cream legbar, so glad she hatched!!!!