staggered broody hatch or dud eggs?

[Chicalina]

Oh, different hens, that makes sense, thank you. Yes, the eggs are from various hens in my flock. I think the hatchlings are pure silkie and bantam cochin/silkie by the looks of them. I also have polish and bantam wyandotte hens.

I will leave alone for tonight except for just candling.

I hope I haven't got 4 Dead in Shell [sad]

 

[bobbi-j]

In my experience, any chicks that are going to hatch under a broody will do so within 24 hours of the first one that hatched. Are all of your eggs bantam eggs? They do tend to hatch a bit earlier, so if your remaining eggs are standard sized, they may be a day or two later than the bantams.

 

[Chicalina]

How long do you think the mum should be allowed to neglect the hatchlings and herself? I'm going in there several times a day and getting them to drink and eat, so i think I am compensating for her not leaving the nest. Plus they are still living off internal yolk. The food and water is only nearby but she will have to leave the nest to get to it and she hasn't yet. I could lift her off but don't want to disturb her unless I have to. She hasn't been for a poop/drink/food today at all. Thankfully it is much cooler here today.

 

[Chicalina]

they are all bantam breeds btw with the same bantam silkie father

 

[Chicalina]

I gave up rearing LF a couple of years ago as I can fit more banties into the same space!

 

[bobbi-j]

I usually give it a day, maybe two, after the first chick hatches, then I remove the remaining eggs.

 

[Chicalina]

I can't bear to give up on them yet in case there are babies that might still hatch. I had a complete failed hatch last time with a broody. She did everything right, so i don't know what went wrong. I didn't open the eggs, just took them and binned them at day 25.

This is my last chance at babies this year, as I haven't got another broody hen. My incubator experiences in previous years have been awful.

 

[Chicalina]

I managed to get some bad shots of 2 of the eggs tonight. Didn't want to risk more.

I got the hen to eat some mealworm this evening and I syringed about 15ml of water into the side of her beak which she lapped up. She isn't the tamest of hens, quite skittish in fact, yet she took this gladly, all the while sitting still on the nest. Bless her.

I feel a lot better about leaving her to it, now she has eaten and drank today.

 

[Chicalina]

any ideas on these eggs?

 

[britesidefarm]

any ideas on these eggs?

They both look good with a nice large air sack. You should also be able to see a little bit of movement as there is still a slight space between the chicks and air sack