What to do? Mixed set dates

[Chickstarrs]

I will try not to make this too long. I have a young hen who went broody. I have not hatched eggs before but thought I would her a try. I collected a couple of eggs from my favourite little hen and gave them to my broody. I recieved a few EE eggs from a friend. I thought she was going to give me fresh eggs but when she brought them, they were ones she took from one of her broodies. They were on day 4. Which means there is a 4 day difference between the eggs. However, she collected them the afternoon before she brought them over so they sat on her counter over night. How will that affect their hatch day? I candled them on May 4 which would have been day 10 for the little egg and day 14 for the big eggs. Picture below for an EE. They seem to be developing fine.

So how can I work this out with the two dates? Will the big eggs be delayed? I have 3 big eggs and 1 little egg left. Can I candle again or is it too close to lockdown?

 

[Kellyjenny]

I will try not to make this too long. I have a young hen who went broody. I have not hatched eggs before but thought I would her a try. I collected a couple of eggs from my favourite little hen and gave them to my broody. I recieved a few EE eggs from a friend. I thought she was going to give me fresh eggs but when she brought them, they were ones she took from one of her broodies. They were on day 4. Which means there is a 4 day difference between the eggs. However, she collected them the afternoon before she brought them over so they sat on her counter over night. How will that affect their hatch day? I candled them on May 4 which would have been day 10 for the little egg and day 14 for the big eggs. Picture below for an EE. They seem to be developing fine.

So how can I work this out with the two dates? Will the big eggs be delayed? I have 3 big eggs and 1 little egg left. Can I candle again or is it too close to lockdown?

View attachment 2659632

@CluckNDoodle

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Are you saying they have been incubating for a different number of days, or that they were just laid on different days? If they were all put under your broody hen on the same day, then they will still hatch on the dame day. The eggs don't begin developing until they start incubating. If you're saying they are at different stages of development, then it would be considered a staggered hatch. Some hens will sit and wait longer for the chicks to hatch than others but most won't wait longer than 3 days from the first chick hatching because they need to get up and start caring for the other chicks. If there are stragglers at the end it's good to have an incubator running for backup just in case. I hope that helps! Good luck on your hatch!

 

[Chickstarrs]

The 4 (now 3) eggs that I got from a friend were incubated for 3 or 4 days by her hen and then set on the counter overnight before she gave them to me (about 18 hours). They then went under the hen with the egg I put there the day before. So there would be 3-4 day difference in incubation. However, I don't know how the counter time for the 3 eggs will affect their hatch day.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

The 4 (now 3) eggs that I got from a friend were incubated for 3 or 4 days by her hen and then set on the counter overnight before she gave them to me (about 18 hours). They then went under the hen with the egg I put there the day before. So there would be 3-4 day difference in incubation. However, I don't know how the counter time for the 3 eggs will affect their hatch day.

Oh wow, I'm surprised they're still developing after that long! Isn't nature incredible! They would be delayed by approximately the same amount of time that they were cooled. It stalls development when they are cooled.

 

[Chickstarrs]

Is it okay to candle them again at this stage? The little one would be 15 days and the others 18 minus their time on the counter.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Is it okay to candle them again at this stage? The little one would be 15 days and the others 18 minus their time on the counter.

Yes, I candle my eggs all the time. Just wash your hands well and handle the gently.

 

[Chickstarrs]

Update:
We have chicks.
I can hear at least 2 chicks under my hen peeping and scratching but have not seen them because she won't get up and is determined to remain sitting. I put some food in front of her and she snapped it up right away. I expect she is waiting for the small egg with the later hatch day (which is tomorrow).

She is in one of the nest boxes about 16" up off the ground. I put a ramp there for when she is ready to bring the chicks down. I have a box on the ground floor for her and the chicks when they are done hatching. Should I just leave her to it, or should I move them myself? I put a small dish of medicated chick feed and another little dish of water (with stones so the chicks won't drown) in the nest box with her. Anything else I should be doing?