What's the oldest eggs you've successfully hatched?

[Keith McDonald]

How many days old for eggs to hatch . I have some that are 16 days old . You think they will hatch ???

 

[WalnutHill]

Give it a try. Worst that happens is they don't hatch, right?

 

[Keith McDonald]

That's what I thought also . So the old ones want contaminate the fresh ones will they ??

 

[WalnutHill]

Candle them after 5 days or so. You should be able to see successful development or duds. And, of course, discard any eggs that leak or smell. Other than that, if they grow they aren't spoiled, so they won't ruin fresher eggs. I just set eggs spanning two weeks of laying. A single hen takes that long to lay a full clutch.

 

[Keith McDonald]

Ok thank you and how do you candle them ??

 

[CrazyChickens09]

to candle eggs get the room you and the eggs are in as dark as possible and use a bright flashlight with fresh batteries.

 

[WalnutHill]

And shine the light into the fat end of the egg. It's best if you cut a hole in a piece of foam for a gasket between the light and the egg. You should be able to see little blood vessels like a spiderweb starting to form. Post pics if you are not sure of what you see, or there are a bunch of threads on here about candling.

 

[KYBOY]

Ive hatched 10 day old eggs many times.