Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[stonykill]

I've had chicks hatch on day 25. The hatch can take 3 days to happen. If it starts on day 21, then it can easily continue until day 24 and at least once for me, day 25. So I don't remove any until day 25 is over.

The easiest way to know if an egg was fertilized - on Day 3 you candle the egg in darkness - if it isn't completely clear - it's fertile and there's something developing. If you can see through it and there's no darkness at all - it wasn't fertilized or it stopped being fertile.

The way to know if it's developing - look at the egg closely and even if it's a dark egg you should be able to see veins and movement near the air sac - if you see that - there's development. If you don't see any veins around the air sac - then it's no longer developing. You can also search for how big the chick is supposed to be on what Day in growth - and go by that if you want.

Here's my plan as I look by candling - any cracked or smelly - I toss
Day 3 - should see a dot with veins or at least not all clear
Day 7 - should see a larger dark mass with veins
Day 14 - should see mostly just a large dark mass and veins
Day 18 - should be able to not see inside egg anymore as this has a mostly developed chick - lay it down and leave it alone to hatch.
Day 19/21/22 - chicks should hatch
Day 24 - remove any eggs unhatched

 

[Niss]

MissL--I love the table and floors, oh and nice chicks

I'm leaving some duck eggs in a box on the floor. Will little Lydia want to accumulate a clutch before she starts? That's how my mallard did it.

Jakrat--There's no accounting for taist, haha. I would follow BG's advice and checkout another hen's egg (maybe make some brownies while your at it). If they arn't fertile I'd go get some eggs from your frind before she waists more time. OR let her go 21days then buy some day olds at the feed store if nothing happens.

Thailand--My advice would be to candle right before you leave and if there are no signs of development switch out her eggs before you leave.
If other hens aren't getting in to lay with her she is probably fine to stay where she's at, since you should make it back before hatch?? (my math is not great--that's why I practice chicken math!). Would the chicks be safe in the current location if hatch day comes while you are away?

My update--the True Value lets you buy however many you want, but won't have chicks until after the ones under Laura hatch and they may not get either of the two breeds I want. I guess I just need to hope for more broodies. I might modify more nests boxes tonight to that end. Any other tricks for encuraging broodiness? Please?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

I have been told that once a rooster inseminates a chicken she can have fertile eggs for up to a month. So as long as your roo was doing his job a month ago, then they should be fine.

A month is TOO long. Fertility will be down to zero by then. Two weeks is pushing it, 10 days is probably max for viable fertility. And I wouldn't start collecting eggs until the lady in question had been with the roo for at least 3 days.

There are always stories of folks insisting that fertility is being observed after two weeks. Those are at best fluke occurences. The science does NOT back that up.

 

[stonykill]

A month is TOO long. Fertility will be down to zero by then. Two weeks is pushing it, 10 days is probably max for viable fertility. And I wouldn't start collecting eggs until the lady in question had been with the roo for at least 3 days.

There are always stories of folks insisting that fertility is being observed after two weeks. Those are at best fluke occurences. The science does NOT back that up.

i hatched eggs last year . Lots of eggs. the 1st incubated lot was 3 weeks after our favorite Old English Bantam was killed by an owl. 2 of the eggs that hatched were obviously his offspring. As he was the only non Sumatra roo on our property.


Fluke, probably, but I know it can and does happen.

I agree, 10 days is best

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes Niss she will collect her clutch, how many I have no idea, just keep an eye on her when she is through collecting she'll begin to brood. Right now my ducks my 3 youngest girls 8months, have a clutch of 7 as of yesterday but so far noone has stepped up to the plate to sit. And I got my 1st egg from my second oldest girls they are almost 4 years, they always start laying late march into beginning april but this weird weather hads everyone confused. None from my 3 oldest girls, maybe they are in menopause.

MissL--I love the table and floors, oh and nice chicks

I'm leaving some duck eggs in a box on the floor. Will little Lydia want to accumulate a clutch before she starts? That's how my mallard did it.

Jakrat--There's no accounting for taist, haha. I would follow BG's advice and checkout another hen's egg (maybe make some brownies while your at it). If they arn't fertile I'd go get some eggs from your frind before she waists more time. OR let her go 21days then buy some day olds at the feed store if nothing happens.

Thailand--My advice would be to candle right before you leave and if there are no signs of development switch out her eggs before you leave.
If other hens aren't getting in to lay with her she is probably fine to stay where she's at, since you should make it back before hatch?? (my math is not great--that's why I practice chicken math!). Would the chicks be safe in the current location if hatch day comes while you are away?

My update--the True Value lets you buy however many you want, but won't have chicks until after the ones under Laura hatch and they may not get either of the two breeds I want. I guess I just need to hope for more broodies. I might modify more nests boxes tonight to that end. Any other tricks for encuraging broodiness? Please?

 

[JakRat]

MissL--I love the table and floors, oh and nice chicks

I'm leaving some duck eggs in a box on the floor. Will little Lydia want to accumulate a clutch before she starts? That's how my mallard did it.

Jakrat--There's no accounting for taist, haha. I would follow BG's advice and checkout another hen's egg (maybe make some brownies while your at it). If they arn't fertile I'd go get some eggs from your frind before she waists more time. OR let her go 21days then buy some day olds at the feed store if nothing happens.

Thailand--My advice would be to candle right before you leave and if there are no signs of development switch out her eggs before you leave.
If other hens aren't getting in to lay with her she is probably fine to stay where she's at, since you should make it back before hatch?? (my math is not great--that's why I practice chicken math!). Would the chicks be safe in the current location if hatch day comes while you are away?

My update--the True Value lets you buy however many you want, but won't have chicks until after the ones under Laura hatch and they may not get either of the two breeds I want. I guess I just need to hope for more broodies. I might modify more nests boxes tonight to that end. Any other tricks for encuraging broodiness? Please?

I did crack open some eggs and I think that they were fertile. That darn white spot confused me a bit as I am TOTALLY NEW to looking.

I am having a bit of an incident in the coop today. I went out to check on my mama hen and while she was down eating and drinking, I looked at her nest. HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

There were three eggs scattered everywhere and it looks as though an egg broke in her nest. yikes.

I am waiting for her to go back up there on her nest so that I can move her into the house on her nest and clean her and the eggs up.

I hope all goes well though. I am going to candle while I am cleaning them up and then later today I am going to try to go and get an egg or two from out farmer friend.

My husband is starting to worry about me

 

[thailand]

Thanks Niss. That sounds like a good plan - candling before I go away. I've never done any of this before so I need all the advice I can get. I will be worrying about her while I'm away though. At the moment all is well as far as the other two hens go. They're not bothering her at all. She gets out of the nest for about 1/2 hour or so and then wanders straight back. Here's the thing though....I've been leaving the eggs she's laid over the last couple of days in her nestbox with her. Should I not be doing this? This is maybe day 4 now, no more than that, so I'm still kinda figuring out if she is going to stay the course and sit till hatch day.

What would be the recommended plan of action here please - leave her with them or store them and put them under her when we go away. If I did that, it would be counted as 'day 1' then right? I'm figuring if I leave her with the eggs she's laying on a daily basis, then hatch day will likely be before we get back from holiday. And won't this also mean that the hatch date for any viable chicks be all over the place?

Oh - how I wish we weren't going away right now!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I did crack open some eggs and I think that they were fertile. That darn white spot confused me a bit as I am TOTALLY NEW to looking.

I am having a bit of an incident in the coop today. I went out to check on my mama hen and while she was down eating and drinking, I looked at her nest. HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

There were three eggs scattered everywhere and it looks as though an egg broke in her nest. yikes.

I am waiting for her to go back up there on her nest so that I can move her into the house on her nest and clean her and the eggs up.

I hope all goes well though. I am going to candle while I am cleaning them up and then later today I am going to try to go and get an egg or two from out farmer friend.

My husband is starting to worry about me

It's okay my husband just looks at me and shakes his head.. don't wash those eggs just wipe them off the best you can, chicks hatch with poop on their shells you don't want to wash the protective bloom or cover off that is actually protecing the egg inside from bacteria.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Heres a link on candleing that may help...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/497266/candling-chicken-eggs

Thanks Niss. That sounds like a good plan - candling before I go away. I've never done any of this before so I need all the advice I can get. I will be worrying about her while I'm away though. At the moment all is well as far as the other two hens go. They're not bothering her at all. She gets out of the nest for about 1/2 hour or so and then wanders straight back. Here's the thing though....I've been leaving the eggs she's laid over the last couple of days in her nestbox with her. Should I not be doing this? This is maybe day 4 now, no more than that, so I'm still kinda figuring out if she is going to stay the course and sit till hatch day.

What would be the recommended plan of action here please - leave her with them or store them and put them under her when we go away. If I did that, it would be counted as 'day 1' then right? I'm figuring if I leave her with the eggs she's laying on a daily basis, then hatch day will likely be before we get back from holiday. And won't this also mean that the hatch date for any viable chicks be all over the place?

Oh - how I wish we weren't going away right now!

 

[JakRat]

It's okay my husband just looks at me and shakes his head.. don't wash those eggs just wipe them off the best you can, chicks hatch with poop on their shells you don't want to wash the protective bloom or cover off that is actually protecing the egg inside from bacteria.

Right! I almost forgot about that. I am so worked up over the whole thing. I dont have kids of my own yet, so I think I am acting out over the whole thing... like if I dont do this right then I am going to be a horrible real mom or something... I am a bit neurotic if yall cant tell