I've never been able to candle an egg with that detail Metapuns, but the chick will have its head under one wing and the dark area may be the large beak. All you can do is wait. I'm not sure if they can stand such a high temperature, even for a short period, so it may be bad news unfortunately.

Should be as 27C isn't that cold so the lamp wasn't off for long. Normal for the mother to leave the nest to feed and let the eggs cool off- some incubators shut down deliberately to mimic that natural condition.

Unfortunately the lump is pretty solid MrsBiscuit so no chance of intervention. She's also very difficult to give water to but she's had Cod liver Oil and regular massaging. She might be blocked with last years cherry stones? Yes, Orpingtons are difficult to pick up- seems their centre of gravity is...

The wound seems to be closing already Marigold. We've treated the area with Neem solution, which is what they use in India for maggot infected wounds the internet says.

Sorry I posted in the wrong place- the new format takes some getting used to.

We've spent the whole morning so far checking and washing bottoms! The problem with Ruby is her runny poo is sticking to the skin below her vent and that's what must have attracted the fly. She's had this problem a few weeks- small green poos with yellow urates. We tried her with different pellets a...

We've been keeping chickens for 11 years now and today saw our first ever case of fly strike. We are very careful to wash bottoms as necessary but this happened just two days after inspection. Ruby, a Buff Orpington (had to be- they are really high maintenance), was brought in last night as she was ...

You can't see hair worms at all as they are only 10mm long and the thickness of a hair. The only time we have seen them is with a sickie who did a huge watery poo shortly before she died- the water appeared to be moving and the worms could be seen under a magnifying glass. Needless to say the rest o...

We have a lot of hens with spurs- usually just one. Those that have two have one much smaller than the other. All ours are laying, some are crowing occasionally and a few are flirtatious on occasions, even with a cockerel. Don't think there is a solution?

You need to take down the fatballs Marigold. The parents can feed the seeds to the chicks and the result is digestive impaction or at very least poor development. They should only be giving them high protein insects. Checked our hornet traps yesterday for caught queens. 10 European hornets, 9 Asian ...

Well it was a light frost only- down to 0C and now brilliant sunshine and 18C and rising. The snakes are waking up and sunbathing. The lizards are basking on the walls and the hornet and wasp queens are out- a major downside of living here. Last year we had a nest of Asian Hornets set in the wall af...