This is a great group. I've really asked a lot of questions and got good responses. Hope someone can handle this one. I have a few Old English Black Breasted bantams. A friend in Dallas sent me a trio of quite expensive Old English Black Rosecomb bantams. Both hens laid a few eggs. I put 10 eggs u;nder one of my OEBB reds. None of the eggs hatched except one egg from the little red hen who somehow got one of her own eggs in the nest. I waited 3=4 days and broke the eggs. There were fully developed little black chicks in some of the eggs. Another little red hen started setting and I put 8 eggs from the rose comb blacks under her and it's now been 28 days. I know I didn't make a mistake counting the days but I hesitate to break the eggs even though they are a week overdue. Any suggestions? Eagle

-- eagle (eagle@alpha1.net), April 30, 2000

Answers

Instead of waiting 3-4 days, wait at least 7. I would say even 14. I have had eggs hatch much later than what I thought they should. One time, some eggs were many days late and I picked them up, put them in a bag and proceeded to put them in the trash when I heard "peep, peep." I looked around to see where the peeps were coming from and didn't see anything. I continued towards the trash can and heard more peeps. This time I determined they were coming from the eggs. I promptly put them back under the hen where they hatched within 24 hours.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), April 30, 2000.

I agree - wait. My friend just killed a duck which was still fully alive but not fully developed. I'm sure she counted the days right, it just must have started developing late. Chickens when they lay naturally keep adding an egg a day to their nest and when they have a full clutch sit on them. Before she starts to sit, the eggs are in sort of a suspended animation, not developing but not lifeless either. Sounds like maybe she didn't get the eggs up to temperature right away? Wishing you better luck! Kim

-- kim (fleece@eritter.net), April 30, 2000.

If the shells are really thick the chicks sometimes have a hard time breaking out. You might sprinkle a tiny bit of warm water on the eggs when the hen is off the nest. Emphasis on small amount. You should be able to hear peeping just before they are ready to hatch. The first thing they will do is start a small hole- you can watch for that too. Did you ever check them to see if they were developing? I don't, but I keep thinking I should.

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), April 30, 2000.

On Easter, I went out to feed, and thought I heard peeping under the one hen we had setting. Looked and no eggs had hatched, so I thought I was hearing things. When I went inside, I told my hubby, who assured me I needed my hearing tested, as chicks couldn't possibly peep before they were hatched. OH, YES THEY CAN! Went out a couple hours later, and there were a couple in the nest, and more followed. A couple of the hatchlings got trampled, fell out of the nest I think and couldn't get back in, but they definetly do cheep before hatching. They are so cute! Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), April 30, 2000.

A clutch of eggs is a wonderous thing. Even if you know exactly when an egg was laid, don't assume it will hatch in exactly X days. Those are AVERAGE hatch dates. Plus depending on how the hen has been sitting, the eggs might not have started doing much developing in the first few days.

Chicks can and do peep in the shell. That peeping is heard by the other developing chicks in their shells and can cause them to undergo changes that cause them to speed up their maturation rate. Which is why a broody hen will have most of her eggs hatch within a few days of each other. Pretty fasinating. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), May 03, 2000.