I know this question has been asked before, but for the first time, I'm experiencing a problem with lack of hatching. One hen, originally set on 9 eggs and two hatched 36 hours ago, nothing for the rest. Can't figure out what might have happened to the rest, and they candled fine at about day 15 or so. How long do you let them go before discarding?
How long...set on nonhatched eggs?
I would wait a couple of days. Not all eggs germinate at the same time so some may go more than the 21 days. After about day 24 I would assume they wouldn't be good.
I agree...I had a broody who had hatched out all but two eggs over a three day period. On the fourth day I moved her with her chicks to another coop and went back to throw out the last two eggs..
As I was carrying them to the garbage I suddenly realised one was peeping. Horrified, I stuck it back under her and she hatched it out the next day. It was fine.
Thanks for the help. Alas, tonight, I opened them up, and there was nothing there but liquid yolk, for lack of a better description. No blood, no development of any kind. I'm guessing something happened to them on about Day 1, or, more likely, they weren't fertile.
Any other reasons you can think of? The eggs came from a friend, and his hatch rate was about 75%. Only difference was the mother of these eggs was younger than the other hens. Same rooster, though, so I wouldn't have suspected infertility. Anyone else experienced this with a young hen? My hen has never hatched eggs, but she never left the nest (except when I got her off), to my knowledge. She was very conscientious about keeping them under her, tucking them in each time she moved. And had she left he nest, she was blocked in, so could have done no more than get up and take a few steps anyway. Mostly temperate weather.
It doesn't sound like the broody did anything wrong. Sometimes a rooster prefers one or two hens over the others. Did all the eggs look alike? I have had pullets and hens lay in a nest, sometimes right under the broody. I have to keep going out and taking out the infertile eggs or the broody would be overwhelmed.
Not sure, as I got the eggs from a friend. He's got more from the same hen, so will set them under a broody hen and see what happens. These are the first eggs he's tried to hatch from her, so if his also fail to hatch, that may answer the fertility question. I can't think of any other reason the eggs would look so normal i.e. no blood, no development at all, no odor.