- Apr 24, 2012
- 49
- 5
- 69
some background info..
these are a friends eggs that i was first made aware of sunday before last, there was no known set date but the incubation estimate was about two weeks.. i candled them and that was about right.. mum had 17 eggs in total, she's a mixer and with a good portion of bantam so not very big and could barely sit on them without them rolling away, the ones on the edge were always a little cool.. they were in a garden in very red north queensland dirt.. they were filthy, the most disgusting ive ever seen, and to make matters worse her nest and consequently her were COVERED in northern fowl mites.. i was very surprised to find that the majority of the eggs were alive. a few days ago i took five eggs and put them in the bator.. hoping that the reduced number would at least make the others warmer, the plan was to remove her, treat her, change her nest and give the eggs back..(if it didnt work maybe another broody hen would take them or the brooder ) yesterday i checked the nest and it was much worse, thousands of mites and a dead rotting chick from a broken egg, mum had flies on her..(she was eating them though
.. deciding to cut our loses we took the rest of the eggs and put them in the incubator.. when they were warm again i checked them carefully and found one had made internal pip, also one of the previous ones i had taken. they have both made external pip now and going well..
so i've a couple that are progressing nicely but the others are odd.. some are probably non viable but there are at least two that when you candle them appear very clear in large places on the egg where they werent before, i can see the chicks moving, almost struggling, the chicks are full term, haven't made internal pip but i suspect that the membrane is collapsing on the them.. my question is this.. i know how to help, have done it many times successfully over the years but not with chicks with this exact problem. i want to know from the experts here if my description sounds reasonable and what they think is going on.. there is absolutely more time for the others that havent made internal pip that look fine but the ones wit the giant spaces? what do you think?
these are a friends eggs that i was first made aware of sunday before last, there was no known set date but the incubation estimate was about two weeks.. i candled them and that was about right.. mum had 17 eggs in total, she's a mixer and with a good portion of bantam so not very big and could barely sit on them without them rolling away, the ones on the edge were always a little cool.. they were in a garden in very red north queensland dirt.. they were filthy, the most disgusting ive ever seen, and to make matters worse her nest and consequently her were COVERED in northern fowl mites.. i was very surprised to find that the majority of the eggs were alive. a few days ago i took five eggs and put them in the bator.. hoping that the reduced number would at least make the others warmer, the plan was to remove her, treat her, change her nest and give the eggs back..(if it didnt work maybe another broody hen would take them or the brooder ) yesterday i checked the nest and it was much worse, thousands of mites and a dead rotting chick from a broken egg, mum had flies on her..(she was eating them though
.. deciding to cut our loses we took the rest of the eggs and put them in the incubator.. when they were warm again i checked them carefully and found one had made internal pip, also one of the previous ones i had taken. they have both made external pip now and going well..so i've a couple that are progressing nicely but the others are odd.. some are probably non viable but there are at least two that when you candle them appear very clear in large places on the egg where they werent before, i can see the chicks moving, almost struggling, the chicks are full term, haven't made internal pip but i suspect that the membrane is collapsing on the them.. my question is this.. i know how to help, have done it many times successfully over the years but not with chicks with this exact problem. i want to know from the experts here if my description sounds reasonable and what they think is going on.. there is absolutely more time for the others that havent made internal pip that look fine but the ones wit the giant spaces? what do you think?
