Was this egg fertilized? + other questions

[Thedogsbark]

Decided to give the eggs another day since today would only be day 21. Nothing so far today. I just checked on her and noticed that one of her nostrils is bleeding. I have seen the chicks pecking at her face now and then, but it was nothing too forceful. Are they pecking at her and making her bleed? So far she hasn't given up on the other eggs and it doesn't appear that she plans to anytime soon. I have been offering food and water but have had to leave it close enough for Rikki and the chicks to reach as she won't get off the remaining eggs.

 

[bobbi-j]

Decided to give the eggs another day since today would only be day 21. Nothing so far today. I just checked on her and noticed that one of her nostrils is bleeding. I have seen the chicks pecking at her face now and then, but it was nothing too forceful. Are they pecking at her and making her bleed? So far she hasn't given up on the other eggs and it doesn't appear that she plans to anytime soon. I have been offering food and water but have had to leave it close enough for Rikki and the chicks to reach as she won't get off the remaining eggs.

Check the eggs to see if she's been pooping on them. If she has, it could have killed the eggs. That's why you really don't want to feed within reach of the nest. Maybe go out tonight and try candling the eggs to see if there is movement? Have you candled at all during incubation?

 

[bobbi-j]

Hello. This is the first time I have hatched eggs. Well, I'm not really hatching them myself. I'm letting one of my hens, Rikki, hatch them. She is currently sitting on six Serama bantam eggs. Today marks day fourteen. Yesterday was the first time I have ever candled them. I was really happy to see that five out of the six looked very promising. However, there was one egg that I was unsure about. Considering how it looks compared to the others, I'm very confident that it will not hatch. However, it made me a little confused on if it was even fertilized to begin with. I thought I could faintly see a few veins, but can't really tell for sure. Does it look like it was fertilized and just died early, or was unfertilized to begin with?

I also had a couple of other questions just to double check and make sure I have my information correct.
1. When I candled yesterday four of the five promising looking eggs were moving a bit. Today I only saw some movement in one egg. Does that mean the ones without movement are dead, or do they just not constantly move?
2. Do I have to lockdown like if I were using an incubator? I have been removing her from the nest two or three times for around five minutes to get food and water or use the bathroom. If I have to lockdown do I just leave her on the nest untouched? Should I put some food and water closer to her? I lockdown on day eighteen, correct?
3. Is it common for a lot of eggs to suddenly die in the last few days? I'm quite worried that most of the eggs will end up not hatching. How many days past twenty-one should I give the eggs to hatch before assuming they aren't going to hatch? I heard that Serama eggs are a little difficult to hatch sometimes.
4. I still have the one egg under her. Do I have to worry about it exploding? None of them smell rotten and she hasn't rolled any of them out from under her to indicate a rotten egg. Would I be okay to just leave it until the rest hatch?
5. I do have one other hen, Tallulah, in with Rikki. So far she seems okay and has not been aggressive. Rikki always seemed to be the more dominant hen before the eggs were introduced anyway. Should I worry about Tallulah attacking the chicks when they are born? I can't really separate them in the pen or coop, but I can bring Tallulah inside for a bit if needed.
6. My two hens are both bantams. Rikki is a Partridge Cochin and Tallulah is a Buff Brahma. How much of a size difference will there be? I know that a Serama bantam is very small, but does anyone have any pictures with a Serama next to a normal bantam? I assume they'll be half the size based on the eggs being around half the size of Tallulah's eggs. Will the size difference be much of an issue when they hatch?

Okay, I'll stop asking so many questions now, haha. I apologize for so many questions. I just want to make sure I am well informed before the chickies arrive. Thank you in advance for any help!

Decided to give the eggs another day since today would only be day 21. Nothing so far today. I just checked on her and noticed that one of her nostrils is bleeding. I have seen the chicks pecking at her face now and then, but it was nothing too forceful. Are they pecking at her and making her bleed? So far she hasn't given up on the other eggs and it doesn't appear that she plans to anytime soon. I have been offering food and water but have had to leave it close enough for Rikki and the chicks to reach as she won't get off the remaining eggs.

If day 14 was on the 11th, then day 21 would have been the 18th. This makes today, day 24. I think it's safe to say that the unhatched ones will not hatch. I see you have candled earlier. I forgot about that.

 

[Thedogsbark]

Five were moving earlier on when I candled. I realize now that I had been counting wrong. The 11th was actually day 11. The eggs were laid three days prior to me getting them, and I was counting including those three days at first rather than when I gave the eggs to her. I gave her them on April 31st. I candled on day 18 and all five still seemed to be developing. I'll go out when it gets darker and candle the remaining eggs.

 

[Thedogsbark]

Only ended up with the three. Rikki never got off the nest, so I eventually took the eggs out from under her. She is moving around in the coop a little more, but has yet to take the chicks out of the coop. Should I be considered that she hasn't taken them out yet, or will she eventually when she thinks they're old enough? Also now that she isn't sitting on eggs anymore is it okay to clean the coop and nesting boxes, or will she still get upset since she has her chicks?

 

[bobbi-j]

Only ended up with the three. Rikki never got off the nest, so I eventually took the eggs out from under her. She is moving around in the coop a little more, but has yet to take the chicks out of the coop. Should I be considered that she hasn't taken them out yet, or will she eventually when she thinks they're old enough? Also now that she isn't sitting on eggs anymore is it okay to clean the coop and nesting boxes, or will she still get upset since she has her chicks?

Go ahead and clean the nest boxes. Can the chicks get back in if she takes them out? If so, I'd let her decide.

 

[Thedogsbark]

There's a fairly large ramp leading up to the coop. I was beginning to think that maybe she was afraid they would fall off on the way down at their current size. The door to the ramp is left open all day, so she always has the chance to take them out and back in the whole day.