day 21 & nothing, what do I do?

[minskey]

Well it is day 21 to day & the [Welsummer] eggs under my banty are not showing any sign of hatching, what to I do?
1/ Leave them another day or so?
2/ Take them away......... what will she do?
I tried to candle them but the shells are really dark, no 'peeping' but very heavy & she is sitting tight, turns into the 'tasmanian devil' if you go to see her.

On another small point her sister was caught on the wrong side of the electric fence 2 or three times, caught & put back, dissapeared all day to day, finally found her in next doors field sitting on 9 eggs!!! so the little tart has actually been escaping for 9 days while I'm at work and coming back to roost Chooks!!!!!!!

[MaureenHall]

Don't do anything about the eggs until Day 24 or 25. Lots of different factors can cause delay in hatching, and if the eggs feel heavy I think that's a good sign (not 100% sure though, never had a broody with eggs) Good luck

[di]

Leave them!
Dandelion & Marigold's were a couple of days later than we were expecting,we were all ready to take them away & give up when we heard lil cheeping sounds late one night!
Hope she soon has some babies!

[minskey]

Hi Maureen & andi&di,
Managed to candle the eggs this morning, there is a universal 'glow' & if you turn them a yellowish shadow which moves, no blobs or threads or dark spots. I candled a fresh egg to compare it and they are the same............... time to give up?

[Polly Fouracre]

Your banty will know when to give up. I would leave it to her.

[RichmondHens]

They sound "clear" to me. You can leave them another day or so, and see, but I suspect they won't come. Why not break one. If just yolk comes out, and they all look the same when candled then you can dispose of the lot. At this stage, if there is a chick in there, you should be able to hear movement/tapping/cheeping if you hold them up to your ear.

Sorry! Better luck next time.

[RichmondHens]

Sorry, forgot to say, I hatch Welsummer eggs a lot, and if there is a chick in there, dead or alive, you won't get a "glow" at this stage as you describe, just black with a visible air space. It IS harder with dark shelled eggs I grant you, so no harm in waiting a bit longer if you want to.