How can you tell if a once fertile egg has been addled? My hen is SOOOOOOOOOOO active in the nest box, I am concerned. I have candled the eggs and so far 3 are fertile (veining) They have however become all red on the inside when I shine the light thru them. I am guessing that is NOT a good sign. Has she scrambled them?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Edited May 22, 200717 yr by Kaz

No they are still cooking.

Thank you very much. I was not sure what I was looking at I guess. This is my first time around with breeding, so everything is an unknown in a practical sense. I have educated myself for months and months on breeding, but nothing is as good as hands on experience.

even if you candle them and you think they are not fertile they have been known to hatch, many on this board have had that experience. So it is best to leave them a few days after they are due to hatch to make sure. I have read some experiences where they thought they would not hatch took them out and there was a baby in there. Good luck

How can you tell if a once fertile egg has been addled? My hen is SOOOOOOOOOOO active in the nest box, I am concerned. I have candled the eggs and so far 3 are fertile (veining) They have however become all red on the inside when I shine the light thru them. I am guessing that is NOT a good sign. Has she scrambled them?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Edited May 23, 200717 yr by Kaz

Yes like others say, be patient, I have broke an egg before thinking it was no good & found a live baby inside, it’s not a good feeling, especially if it’s your first batch & your waiting for some good news. I also have one crazy hen, most exit the nest as I lift the lid, but she runs in circles all over the eggs, all the time the nest is open eggs flying in all directions. My suggestion is if the hen is nervous just leave her be, most are pretty good at doing what needs to be done if left alone.

Yes I agree, when my hens lay I number the eggs as they lay them, and then I hardly touch them as too much handling is not realy good as you can past germs from nest to nest< with out reading my book I can't realy tell what it is called but it is a bacteria type thing. So I just shine my torch in at the eggs and most times I can tell if they are fertile or not.

Sometimes I have had eggs that look clear but they end up hatching, so yes just leave them alone and let the hen do her job. You will be surprised at wonderful it all is. :rip: