Winter Broody: How long can eggs be cold and still survive?

[WVduckchick]

I hope so too! <3 I will know from now on to always try to relocate them BEFORE giving them the viable eggs so this never happens again!

There are never any definites with broodies! Even moving them beforehand can make them change their mind. It’s always a crapshoot.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

At that stage, it would take a day or two to actually see the blood vessels recede if they died. I suspect the chances are good that at least some will still hatch.

The movement your are seeing... do you mean if you kinda twist the egg and that twisting motion causes it to slosh back and forth inside? Those are usually quitters. But don’t rule it out yet! How many eggs is she on?

And by the way, if that one did quit, it still may not have been because of the cold.

Good luck!

I hope you're right! She's sitting on 7 eggs that were all healthy and on track before the incident. I don't know that I would call it a slosh so much as the chick just loosely whirls when I turn the egg. I'm pretty delicate with them though so I suppose it may have been a slosh if I jostled it harder, lol.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Don't beat yourself up. They very well could hatch still.

I made a similar mistake my first hatch. It was in the low 50's and she was off the eggs for hours. Of the 4 eggs she was sitting, 2 hatched. The other 2 had porous shells, and I suspect bacteria got in. They oozed out when cracked and weren't developing right even before the move.

Thank you! I'm trying not to but it's hard when your learning curve involves possibly killing baby chicks
I'm hopeful that some of them will make it! It does make me feel better that 2 of yours successfully hatched. Fingers crossed!!

 

[aart]

If you're hatching, there will be deaths...some are 'natural' some are mistakes on the keepers part. We've all made mistakes, don't be too hard on yourself.

If have a broody that I want to let hatch, I move her to where I want her with fake eggs in a nest and give her time to settle(<24 hrs should do it, if she's serious) before giving fresh fertile eggs.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

If you're hatching, there will be deaths...some are 'natural' some are mistakes on the keepers part. We've all made mistakes, don't be too hard on yourself.

If have a broody that I want to let hatch, I move her to where I want her with fake eggs in a nest and give her time to settle(<24 hrs should do it, if she's serious) before giving fresh fertile eggs.

Thank you! I will certainly take a different approach next time.
I'm going to candle the eggs again tomorrow and hope some are still developing!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that took the time to help me!
I just did the final candling and I saw life in one of the eggs!! I put all seven back underneath her, but I'm so blown away that I even saw that one! I also still see the blood vessels in all of the eggs so I'm hoping we'll have a successful hatch from more than one egg! The development does seem stunted even in the one so I'm thinking of waiting until day 25 if I don't see any hatching on time, does that sound about right? I'm so excited!! Thank you again! I would have lost all hope if it weren't for this great group!

 

[GirlsMommy18]

That is great to hear! From what I read, you can expect the hatch to be delayed by around how long she was off the clutch. One of mine hatched on hatch day late in the night, one hatched late the following night, so it was pretty accurate.