babychat 0 Posted March 12, 2013 Member ID: 7,442 Group: Site Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 20 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 43 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 0 Achievement Points: 415 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/10/12 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Hi all, I have a hen sitting on 6 eggs for about 2 weeks now, three days ago she starting laying again, she now has 8 in there. Although I have read lots I have no personal experience as this is the first clutch I have had. I can't tell whether the others are fertile or not so don't want to remove them. Any suggestions? Tracey Link to comment
Vargur 0 Posted March 12, 2013 Member ID: 7,564 Group: Site Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 7 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 70 Content Per Day: 0.00 Reputation: 0 Achievement Points: 420 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 17/02/13 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 7, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Have you/can you candle the eggs to see if they are fertile? if they are see through and clear yellow then they are empty, new eggs are clear pink in color. if they are DIS then they are greyish white, fertile eggs are opaque white and have weins inside. sometimes you can even see heartbeat. Link to comment
hilly 0 Posted March 13, 2013 Member ID: 5,144 Group: Site Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 267 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 0 Achievement Points: 1,440 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 17/03/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 20, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hi Tracey, When you say she has been sitting for two weeks, did she have six eggs two weeks ago or had she started laying then? If she only started laying then she would be up to her eighth egg now. As Vargur mentioned you can candle the eggs to check for fertility, this can be done in the nest with a strong small torch just one of those led torches do the job fine. Cheers Jenny Link to comment
babychat 0 Posted March 13, 2013 Member ID: 7,442 Group: Site Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 20 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 43 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 0 Achievement Points: 415 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/10/12 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) Hi Jenny, She had six eggs 2 weeks ago, then a big break and started laying again. I'm guessing the old eggs are infertile but I now don't know which ones are which. Vargur, I have candled them but they all look the same to me. If I understand correctly I won't see anything in the new eggs until 5-10 days, so I don't want to risk throwing out the wrong ones. She has laid another one so that is 3 new and 6 old. I guess I just leave them all in there for now. Tracey Edited March 13, 2013 by babychat Link to comment
robyn 0 Posted March 14, 2013 Member ID: 5,241 Group: Site Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 86 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 1,887 Content Per Day: 0.10 Reputation: 0 Achievement Points: 10,750 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 25/04/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: June 19, 2018 Birthday: 21/12/1946 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Hi Babychat, Is she paired up in cage or just in aviary? If she's paired up the new eggs should show signs of being fertile within a week. Could you mark old eggs so you can tell which are new ones? If she laid 6 in first clutch she may lay about the same this round. Old eggs could be going a dirty dark look if they aren't fertile they would be "off" by now. Link to comment
babychat 0 Posted March 14, 2013 Member ID: 7,442 Group: Site Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 20 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 43 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 0 Achievement Points: 415 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/10/12 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 Hi Robyn, They are in a cage by themselves. I am a bit nervous about handling the eggs to mark them. This is the first clutch I have ever had so am very, very new to it. I guess I will get more confidence as I go! What sort of felt pen do you use? I keep reading non toxic but how do I know which ones are non toxic? Thanks, Tracey Link to comment
hilly 0 Posted March 14, 2013 Member ID: 5,144 Group: Site Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 267 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 0 Achievement Points: 1,440 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 17/03/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 20, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Hi babychat just a fine point marker, the harmful ones have a x on them and say toxic. You can pick the older eggs by the size of the air pocket at the round end of the egg. As the egg ages the air pocket gets bigger because the shell is porous. You should be able to see this when you candle. Cheers Jenny Link to comment
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