When to stop turning?

[Kakapothechicken]

Hi, I had a hen on eggs who got mites and I decided it was in her best interest to take the eggs away and stop her (or try to) being broody so that she could recover from the mites and the chicks would not be infected.

The eggs were put in the incubator three and a bit days ago, four out of five under her seemed viable, one was thrown out yesterday as it had gone sloshy and had an odour. The problem is, I don’t know when they were started. They seem to be at different developmental stages, one has a vein visible if looking in one specific direction but is otherwise dark and impossible to see, the other two are both very dark, one is completely dark with no chance of seeing anything the other gets some light coming through the pores in one area. I unfortunately have lost my candler and have been using a very bright (but not bright enough for very thick shelled Maran eggs!) bike torch so can’t guarantee any accuracy with the candling. I have just seen one appear to rock itself slightly which was very reassuring to see.
My question is, when do I stop the turner? I am thinking the damage done to the later stage chicks would be greater by leaving the turner on than that done to the slightly behind ones by switching it off early for them, am I correct?
I think she was first definitely sitting eighteen days ago yesterday but can’t be sure of anything.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hard to know which way to go, but if you have one that is rocking, then stopping the turner may be the best option.
For the others, if you think they are a few days behind, just hand turn them.

 

[Kakapothechicken]

Thank you. I have stopped the turner, at least two of them are rocking but not sure about the third one. They respond to being spoken to, it’s as close as an egg will ever get to being cute! Hopefully they hatch over the next few days.

 

[Kakapothechicken]

One was squeaking back when they egg was lightly tapped yesterday and is squeaking by itself today so I am thinking it has internally pipped and will hatch very soon. The other two are questionable, one is still dark but the contents now turn as the egg is tuned on the candler so is probably dead, can’t see anything in the last one.

The hen is still broody but has been treated for mites, since only one egg seems to be hatching the best thing to do would be to put it with her so that it os not alone. Would it be better to do it while it’s not yet hatching or when it has hatched and dried a bit?
The hen has virtually no mites on her (though I will check again before doing anything) but her skin and feathers are still holding a lot of the dust that was put on her. I am concerned this may hurt the chick since it will be under there with the dust.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How are things going?

Personally, I'd wait until the chick hatches and dries, see that it's up and moving o.k. in the incubator. Place the chick under the hen after dark, then go out first thing to see if she's happy and has accepted it.

I've dusted broody hens and chicks with Permethrin, so for me, I wouldn't find it too much of an issue if she has some dust in her feathers.
Usually the hen will shake excess off, hopefully your broody has done the same.
I suppose it all depends on your level of comfort about the product you used and the situation, so use your best judgement.

The nesting area/housing/etc. has also been treated correct? Mites can be very hard to eliminate, so you'll need to repeat treatment in 5-7 day intervals for several weeks.
Do check your chicks frequently to make sure they don't have any mites, mites can kill chicks (and adults if bad enough).

 

[Kakapothechicken]

Thank you for helping.
The hen was treated with a powder that I think is lemon eucalyptus based, she has shaken the majority of it off but there is still a coating on her skin and deep in her feathers.
The chick was responding when tapped or squeaked too but has now stopped moving entirely. Someone picked it up and I think it got put down the wrong way up. I candled it yesterday and could see no airsac which I think implies it has internally pipped but there was no movement or sound. The day before yesterday it had an airsac still but I thought I could see its beak poking through into the airsac.
Not quite sure at what point I should put a hole in the shell. I have one egg in the incubator beside it that needs manual turning so feel concerned that if I put a hole and the incubator has to keep being slightly opened it could cause issues.

 

[Kakapothechicken]

All nesting boxes were emptied and treated, all perches and the inside edges of the house as well as the outside. I believe they were northern fowl mites rather than red mites. They were very large and ran quite fast, they also didn’t cluster the way red mites do. So far, I haven’t actually seen a single one of these mites on the chicken or the houses but she is due another treatment in the next few days and she will be more thoroughly checked then.

 

[Kakapothechicken]

Just candled it. Unfortunately I only have a phone torch which is not great for super thick maran eggs.
This is all the same egg. Feathers seem to be visible in one place and I can still see the air sac thought I couldn’t last night. Any thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm not very good at candling.
I'd give it another day or so and see how it goes.

 

[Kakapothechicken]

This morning it had goo oozing from the pores on the surface.
I have removed the shell so now it is a gooey wobbly lump.
Any ideas what went wrong from these pictures?