Would you set these eggs under a broody?

[RedMoxie]

We have a broody and were planning on hatching some of our fertile eggs under her as well as a few shipped breeder eggs to get some lavender orps in our flock. The shipped eggs got here today and while they looked well packed 3 out of 8 were broken. Pretty good breaks, too, not just cracks. My question is, would you bother setting the rest under the broody? I'm worried that if the handling was bad enough to break several eggs, should I assume the rest will be no good? I need to decide because if these are even less likely than normal shipped eggs to hatch, then I will just go with our own fertile eggs all around.

TIA

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Never assume. Set any fertile eggs that aren't cracked and no more than your hen can cover.

 

[PirateGirl]

It doesn't hurt to try! You paid for these eggs, may as well set them. Add a few of your own to replace the ones that broke.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Unfortunately, I just don't think there's an accurate way to predict if some of the (outwardly) undamaged eggs will hatch. Did the air cells or yolks look abnormal when you candled, or did you see any hairline cracks?

I set eggs recently that had suffered badly during shipping - some were smashed, others were just dented or had hairline cracks that were only visible when candled. I still set the cracked ones that weren't seeping (painting liquid bandage over the areas, per @ChickenCanoe's recommendation in a post) and the "good" ones. The hatch wasn't great, but some did still hatch.

Best of luck!

 

[RedMoxie]

Thanks all--I'll set them and throw a few of ours under her for good measure and wish for the best then. This is all really helpful (and somewhat hopeful).
And they did look okay under candle, but I was only looking for cracks--I really can't figure out what I'm looking for with air sacks before they start developing...

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thanks all--I'll set them and throw a few of ours under her for good measure and wish for the best then. This is all really helpful (and somewhat hopeful).
And they did look okay under candle, but I was only looking for cracks--I really can't figure out what I'm looking for with air sacks before they start developing...

You'll know if you see a weird air cell - like saddle-shaped, ruptured, detached - they don't look the way that a "normal" air cell (see diagrams in this article) should look. Page 4 of this thread has some pics of abnormal air cells for future reference.

 

[RedMoxie]

You'll know if you see a weird air cell - like saddle-shaped, ruptured, detached - they don't look the way that a "normal" air cell (see diagrams in this article) should look. Page 4 of this thread has some pics of abnormal air cells for future reference.

thanks! very helpful

 

[Cr8zy4Chicks]

Give them a chance, maybe gi e her a few more of your eggs to sit on so after 10 day you can candle them and pull any that haven't developed, it's pretty obvious when there's no babies and then let nature take its course from there.

I put 15 under my broody and I picked up 6 eggs from a local person and all 6 of her eggs didnt delevope, so now my broody is on the remaining 9 and they look great

Good luck!!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Please let the person you got them from those that were broken it is fair and
may replace them for you

 

[RedMoxie]

Please let the person you got them from those that were broken it is fair and
may replace them for you

I was wondering about that. Honestly I didn't because I paid for 6 and they shipped 9. So, I don't feel like I'm owed anything. And I've bought shipped eggs dozens of times--these were well-packed by any standard, so I really think it came down to mishandling. I don't think the breeder was at fault.