hatching eggs

[Anonymous]

We have a broody hen and aquired six fertile eggs for her to sit on.We moved her to a seperate hen house and she happily sat on them for one and a half days. I then left her door open so she could come out and scratch around but I thnk she bacame dis-orientated and returned to her original nest site. I put her back on the nest and she has stayed there quite happily for the last 4 days. I think she may have been off the eggs for about 8 hrs does anyone know if they may be still viable or is 8hrs without being sat on too long?

 

[Tim]

It's possible the eggs will still hatch. After a week (about now?) you should be able to take the eggs one by one and candle them (easier in the dark) and see whether the eggs have developped. After a week, you should see a good 'blob' (the embryo) and hopefully if the shells allow, the spider like veins.

You can see some pictures here of Candling Chickens Eggs at a week and two weeks...

Hope this helps....

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much Tim. I'm rather looking forward to candling the eggs! I've never heard of it before.
joy-d

 

[Chuck]

Occasioally power cuts can last that long & they sometimes still hatch but may be one or two days late.