Was this egg fertilized? + other questions

[Thedogsbark]

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!

 

[Rooster G]

Let her decide. She knows when she needs to eat/drink. Do not worry about the other hen attacking chicks. Day 14, no development - toss it.
Do not worry about not seeing movement every time.

 

[oregonkat]

Your hen knows what to do, that's her job. You do not need to move her on and off the nest, she will come and go as she needs to. Lockdown is for incubators only. Lockdown is designed to keep us off the eggs for the hatching process.
What day is your hen on, how long has she been sitting?
I would stop messing with the eggs. Your hen might get the idea that she is not supposed to be sitting if you keep taking the eggs out from under her. Hard to tell about the egg in question, put it back under her especially if these were fresh eggs to begin with. You wont have a problem with a rotten one if they are fresh eggs.
Your broody will look after the chicks when they are born. Usually the other hens understand exactly what is going on and are perfectly fine around the chicks. Just an addition to the family. Keep watch to make sure but USUALLY there is no problem.
Relax, enjoy, and let your broody do what is natural for her. She will present chicks to you soon enough!

 

[bobbi-j]

I agree with the above posters. Let your hen do what she instinctively knows how to do. Hens have been hatching eggs for centuries before humans decided they needed to intervene. You don't need to "lockdown". Your hen will do that on her own.

When I have a broody, I make sure she is able to get off the nest to eat, drink, poop and dust bathe when she feels the need - not when I want her to. Hens generally like to be left alone when broody. Again - instinct tells them they should be secluded. Probably to protect their nest from predators.

That egg in question is no good. I'd remove it from the nest. If it's rotten, it could explode, covering the rest of them in deadly bacteria.

 

[Thedogsbark]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone! I stopped moving her off the nest myself and have been letting her do her own thing. I started locking Tallulah out of the coop during the day so she wouldn't disturb Rikki or steal her eggs. I realized I was counting from when the eggs were laid rather than when we gave them to our hen. That would make today day 19. I went out there to check on her and was very surprised to see two little chicks! Their little fluff wasn't quite dry yet so I figured I had just missed them being born. I resisted the urge to hold them and left her alone with them and the remaining eggs. Three eggs still need to hatch. I have a couple of more questions now that they are beginning to hatch.
1. Will all of the eggs hatch today or will some take another day or two?
2. I'm a little wary of letting Tallulah in tonight when they go to bed. Will she leave the chicks and eggs alone? I had issues with her stealing eggs earlier on. Last night I put up a divider on the off chance that the eggs hatched. Should I put up the divider again just to be safe so Tallulah doesn't try to mess with the other three eggs?
3. How many days should I give the rest of the eggs to hatch before assuming that they won't hatch?
4. When can I hold the chicks? I have resisted the urge since I saw the two. I know Rikki may not let me hold them, but what day can I try to? Should I wait until Rikki gets off the nest with them?
5. Is it okay to gently move her a little off of the eggs/chicks? Not for a long period of time, just long enough to see how many chicks have hatched and how many she is still waiting on. I'm afraid of messing up the hatching eggs if I move her to look. Also should I remove the egg shells out from under her from the two that have already hatched?

 

[bobbi-j]

1. If they were all placed under the hen at the same time, all that are going to hatch will generally do so within 24 hours.

2. It wouldn't hurt to put the divider up for a day or two.

3. When the mama leaves the nest with the chicks, I remove the unhatched eggs.

4. You have a better chance now before she leaves the nest with them, but you do risk upsetting her enough that she may leave the nest. If you want tame chicks that you can hold, you're better off raising them yourself.

5. I will reach under a broody to feel for and remove eggshells. You could also just lift her off a little with one hand and reach under with the other.

 

[Thedogsbark]

I put up the divider so Tallulah could finally go up. I'd hate for her to get upset and leave the nest, so I'm not going to try and hold the chicks until after she gets off the nest with them herself. I lifted her up a little and planned on removing the egg shells from before. However I saw that a third chick had hatched. It looked like it had just come out of the shells. I didn't want to disturb it so I put her back down and plan to try taking the shells out again a little later on tonight.

 

[lifetimechicklover]

I put up the divider so Tallulah could finally go up. I'd hate for her to get upset and leave the nest, so I'm not going to try and hold the chicks until after she gets off the nest with them herself. I lifted her up a little and planned on removing the egg shells from before. However I saw that a third chick had hatched. It looked like it had just come out of the shells. I didn't want to disturb it so I put her back down and plan to try taking the shells out again a little later on tonight.

I don't remember the number of eggs you put under her, but at this point it's better to have a little patience and let her take care of the babies until all have hatched. You'll have plenty chances to play with the babies when she leaves the nest on her own. Best of luck with the little chickies!

 

[Thedogsbark]

I checked on her again this morning. No other eggs had hatched. The three that hatched yesterday all seem to be doing great! Hoping that the other two will hatch soon and that they didn't end up dying. When should I put out food and water for the chicks? Will Rikki be okay going back to eating chick feed until the chicks are older?

 

[bobbi-j]

I would put food and water out now. Your hen will likely take the chicks off the nest soon. When she does, I’d dispose of the unhatched ones. Actually, if they were started the same time as the ones that did hatch, I’d remove them tonight or no later than tomorrow so she can care for the ones she has.