Yesterday's bounty and...

[TwoCrows]

I am sad to say that this morning we found an egg outside of lay box that looked like it had been stepped on. The egg was cold so we knew we were too late to help in any way (not sure if that is even possible).

Hubby opened it up and at least half the yolk was still there. Is this normal? Should the yolk be almost gone at 21 days?

Still waiting on chicks. When should I give up? Today is day 22.

The egg with a lot of yolk was either a quiter or not fertile. Have you candled any of the eggs yet? No don't give up yet, day 21 is not written in stone, babies can hatch days later.

 

[MarlaMac]

The egg with a lot of yolk was either a quiter or not fertile. Have you candled any of the eggs yet? No don't give up yet, day 21 is not written in stone, babies can hatch days later.

Thanks for the encouragement. Yes. We candled the eggs about a week ago when I found a broken egg in the nest. At that point, 8 of the 12 we fertile and took up a lot of space.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks for the encouragement. Yes. We candled the eggs about a week ago when I found a broken egg in the nest. At that point, 8 of the 12 we fertile and took up a lot of space.

I'd give them several more days anyway, keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[MarlaMac]

Two days ago, I collected 13 eggs out of 14 layers. Thought that was pretty good. They generally average between 8-10 daily.

Then today - this, my reliable broody. She is sitting on 15 eggs. I am going to let her hatch out and raise a straight run for a friend.

Well...found this is the egg box this morning so I think it is safe to say that we have at least one baby in the box. Momma is being pretty guarded. I think I will have one egg left when she is done hatching the rest. When I candled a couple of days ago, one was obviously not as developed as the others. The chick inside took up about 1/2 the space as the rest of them. Good lesson for me to mark eggs and pick up any tag alongs!

 

[MarlaMac]

Well...found this is the egg box this morning so I think it is safe to say that we have at least one baby in the box. Momma is being pretty guarded. I think I will have one egg left when she is done hatching the rest. When I candled a couple of days ago, one was obviously not as developed as the others. The chick inside took up about 1/2 the space as the rest of them. Good lesson for me to mark eggs and pick up any tag alongs!

Still just the one baby. But momma still sitting, so I will just ride it out until she leaves the nest which I would imagine will be in a day or two.

I gave her food and water, but she did not attempt to teach the baby how to eat yet. She must be waiting for the others to arrive.

Getting antsy. Want to see the others hatch. Good news, I have a broody in waiting. If momma leaves, I will put the remaining eggs under this broody.

Baby chicks are the cutest!

 

[TwoCrows]

Still just the one baby. But momma still sitting, so I will just ride it out until she leaves the nest which I would imagine will be in a day or two.

I gave her food and water, but she did not attempt to teach the baby how to eat yet. She must be waiting for the others to arrive.

Getting antsy. Want to see the others hatch. Good news, I have a broody in waiting. If momma leaves, I will put the remaining eggs under this broody.

Baby chicks are the cutest!

Congratulations on this little baby! Hopefully others hatch soon. Nothing cuter than momma and her babies.

 

[MarlaMac]

Still just the one baby. But momma still sitting, so I will just ride it out until she leaves the nest which I would imagine will be in a day or two.

I gave her food and water, but she did not attempt to teach the baby how to eat yet. She must be waiting for the others to arrive.

Getting antsy. Want to see the others hatch. Good news, I have a broody in waiting. If momma leaves, I will put the remaining eggs under this broody.

Baby chicks are the cutest!

Need some advice here.

Still just the one baby that was hatched on Monday. One egg cracked open yesterday, but it was obiviously a quitter as all I found was a mass of really stinky matter.

So, today, I decided to float test the other 4 under her. They all tested viable - only a small portion (maybe 1/6 - 1/5 of the egg) above the water line. According to a post I read on this site this means the eggs are viable and at maturity. I thought I saw one moving in the water.

Momma got off the nest and brought the one baby out into the coop, presumably to teach it to eat and drink. I do have water and food in the coop for them.

She returned to the eggs and is sitting on them again. If I count the first 24 hours as day 1, then today is day 25 for these eggs. They didn't smell foul when I float tested them.

I am inclined to wait until momma completely abandons the eggs before taking any action. Does this sound reasonable?

Edit: right now, momma doesn't have a way to take baby out of the coop, as the step up is too big for the baby to navigate. We will be changing this today when all the hens are done laying.

Thank you.

 

[TwoCrows]

Need some advice here.

Still just the one baby that was hatched on Monday. One egg cracked open yesterday, but it was obiviously a quitter as all I found was a mass of really stinky matter.

So, today, I decided to float test the other 4 under her. They all tested viable - only a small portion (maybe 1/6 - 1/5 of the egg) above the water line. According to a post I read on this site this means the eggs are viable and at maturity. I thought I saw one moving in the water.

Momma got off the nest and brought the one baby out into the coop, presumably to teach it to eat and drink. I do have water and food in the coop for them.

She returned to the eggs and is sitting on them again. If I count the first 24 hours as day 1, then today is day 25 for these eggs. They didn't smell foul when I float tested them.

I am inclined to wait until momma completely abandons the eggs before taking any action. Does this sound reasonable?

Edit: right now, momma doesn't have a way to take baby out of the coop, as the step up is too big for the baby to navigate. We will be changing this today when all the hens are done laying.

Thank you.

Yes this is reasonable. But watch her carefully, broodies are programmed to wait a couple few days and then all of a sudden abandon all eggs, viable or not. (It becomes time to start teaching chicks how to survive.) So she may not continue a whole lot longer. Do you have an incubator or Hatcher, if she gives up you can finish them in either of those.

 

[MarlaMac]

Need some advice here.

Still just the one baby that was hatched on Monday. One egg cracked open yesterday, but it was obiviously a quitter as all I found was a mass of really stinky matter.

So, today, I decided to float test the other 4 under her. They all tested viable - only a small portion (maybe 1/6 - 1/5 of the egg) above the water line. According to a post I read on this site this means the eggs are viable and at maturity. I thought I saw one moving in the water.

Momma got off the nest and brought the one baby out into the coop, presumably to teach it to eat and drink. I do have water and food in the coop for them.

She returned to the eggs and is sitting on them again. If I count the first 24 hours as day 1, then today is day 25 for these eggs. They didn't smell foul when I float tested them.

I am inclined to wait until momma completely abandons the eggs before taking any action. Does this sound reasonable?

Edit: right now, momma doesn't have a way to take baby out of the coop, as the step up is too big for the baby to navigate. We will be changing this today when all the hens are done laying.

Thank you.

Well, momma left the eggs. I brought them in and decided I would externally pip them. Every one of them was mush inside and had the most horrendous smell. I am thinking, I either misunderstood the test or it simply doesn't work.

Now we have one little chickie who will have no one to hang with after mom is done raising her. I guess I will be her (hopefully) best friend. If it is a boy I will aim to re-home him as soon as mom is finished.

I wish it had turned out differently, but that is okay.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Well, momma left the eggs. I brought them in and decided I would externally pip them. Every one of them was mush inside and had the most horrendous smell. I am thinking, I either misunderstood the test or it simply doesn't work.

Now we have one little chickie who will have no one to hang with after mom is done raising her. I guess I will be her (hopefully) best friend. If it is a boy I will aim to re-home him as soon as mom is finished.

I wish it had turned out differently, but that is okay.

Can you find one or two day-old chicks to add? (I don’t know how you handle biosecurity.)