what went wrong? why are they so delayed?

[spish]

14 eggs. lost 5 in the first three weeks (got crushed by broody)
9 make it to day 21 (2 are duck eggs so we'll say 7 made it to then)

is now day 24 no movement. thought id candle them while mama was off to stretch her legs.

all 7 looked bad so i took them away (one actually exploded as i picked it up, i now stink to high heaven and cant get rid of the stench

)

through them on the compost heap. they all cracked open and oozed out green stinky stuff bar two.

looked a little closer...theres blood on two.
look even closer, the membranes are moving

theres chicks in there

but a hell of a lot of blood.
pick them up to take them indoors to try and salvage them...one egg breaks totally..chick slides out....havent got a hope in hells chance of saving that one now (but it didnt look like a chick that should be more than ready to hatch..looked about day 17/18?
was more underdeveloped than the chick here...https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=387061

2nd egg i have wrapped in a warm damp cloth on a heat mat but dont hold out any hop due to the amount of blood oozing out.

what would cause eggs under a broody to be so far behind schedule???

 

[Kedreeva]

Usually behind schedule growth is due to not enough heat. Was your broody off the nest a lot? It's also possible there is something genetically wrong, or that the eggs didn't start on the day you thought they did. The blood is more than likely due to torn membrane from you tossing the eggs, not due to something that occurred naturally. The state of the other eggs also suggests bacterial infection, which could possibly retard growth of the embryo if it doesn't kill them outright.

If your broody was off the nest a lot, consider locking her up in a dog crate or similarly small place so that there's very little to do besides sit on the eggs. Considering the almost certain bacterial infection, you may want to both clean the nesting area thoroughly before letting her sit again, and consider treating her with something if the eggs were hers. If you washed the eggs, stop it. They first of all shouldn't be dirty because they should be laid in clean bedding from a hen's clean butt (so to speak), but if they are dirty cleaning does 2 things- scrubs the bloom off and actually pushes bacteria through the pores of the shell. Aside from that, excessive handling if you haven't washed your hands can introduce all sorts of bacteria.

There's also the fact that nature can be a mean SOB and no matter what you do, it still beats you for no other reason than it can.

In short, do the best you can and hope nature takes your side through the next hatch.

 

[spish]

the eggs got really dirty early on, but on advise from byc'ers i was told NOT to wash them. is it possible not washing them is what caused the infection? they were putrid inside (the others) green/black/yellow, most god awful stench ever smelt

 

[Kedreeva]

It's *possible* but not probable that dirt was the sole cause of the decay. Now, if they were covered in poo and your mom bird has an infection of some sort, then that considerably raises the chances that something happened with that. Otherwise, I would say the putrid ones died early on and the bacteria and rot were allowed to flourish for the duration of incubation... and let me tell you, the temp and humidity that's perfect for chicken growth is also perfect for bacteria growth.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Another reason for delay could be another hen laid an egg in her nest after your broody started setting. Hoping for the little eggchick to pull thru - cornstarch dabbed on where the shell is bleeding might help stop the bleeding. Then I might try slipping it back under the broody - it would depend upon the broody (some are fussier than others).